Japan Airlines and Boom To Develop Supersonic Air Travel

Japan Airlines have partnered Boom Supersonic, a Denver based company, to bring commercial supersonic travel to passengers. This new-generation supersonic aircraft will fly at Mach 2.2, cutting flight times in half. JAL has made a strategic investment of US$10 million in Boom and will provide its knowledge and experience as an airline to support Boom in developing the aircraft.  JAL has the option to purchase up to 20 Boom aircraft through a pre-order arrangement.

“We’ve been working with Japan Airlines behind the scenes for over a year now,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “JAL’s passionate, visionary team offers decades of practical knowledge and wisdom on everything from the passenger experience to technical operations. We’re thrilled to be working with JAL to develop a reliable, easily-maintained aircraft that will provide revolutionary speed to passengers. Our goal is to develop an airliner that will be a great addition to any international airline’s fleet.”

“We are very proud to be working with Boom on the advancement in the commercial aviation industry. Through this partnership, we hope to contribute to the future of supersonic travel with the intent of providing more `time` to our valued passengers while emphasizing flight safety ,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, President of Japan Airlines.

Boom aircraft is expected to enter into service in mid 2020s. It has a maximum range of 8,334 km with 45 to 55 Business Class type seating. Boom is backed by venture capital firms such as 8VC, RRE, Lightbank, Y Combinator, and Caffeinated Capital, as well as angel investors including Sam Altman, Paul Graham, and Greg McAdoo.