www.privateairny.com
Private Air New York | Winter 2014/2015
82
O
ctober 24, 2003,
was the last flight
of the Concorde,
the supersonic jet
that promised, and
delivered for 27 years, luxurious
transatlantic flights from New York
to London in less than four hours.
Business travelers that have since
longed for the speed and comfort of
another supersonic flight will finally
be able to travel faster than the
speed of sound once again. At the
recent National Business Aviation
Association (NBAA) convention
held in Orlando, leaders from Airbus
and Aerion Supersonic announced
their partnership to create the world's
first supersonic business jet. is
collaboration will bring together
Aerion's proprietary supersonic
laminar flow technology with
Airbus'technical and certification
support resulting in greater business
effectiveness over long distance
flights.
Test flights for what is labeled the
Aerion AS2 will not begin until 2019
with commercials flights projected
to start in 2021. Built for speed as
well as comfort, the Aerion AS2 will
be able to reach speeds of Mach 1.6,
or 1200 mph, (commercial long-
haul jets typically cruise at between
480-560 mph), with a cruising speed
of Mach 1.1 to 1.2. In other words,
business travel will once again be
about four hours from London to
New York. Currently, air speeds
above Mach 1 are prohibited in
US airspace, but high speeds on
transoceanic routes will clearly make
up any lost time. e AS2 will have
a projected range of 5,450 statute
miles, meaning it would be able to fly
San Francisco to Tokyo or London to
Seattle nonstop.
AVIATION
