The Twitter presence of United Airlines aspires to establish the airline as your pal, with a “personality” that ranges from wry to whimsical. “Drop your perfect vacay using emojis only and we’ll guess the destination!” the account playfully instructs its followers in one tweet this week. Another – dispatched on Wednesday - confesses, “Our hearts went BOOM!” accompanied by a smiley face with hearts for eyes.
This latter tweet, of course, serves to herald the airline’s
upcoming plans to deploy a fleet of Overture airliners – the new supersonic concepts
being brought to reality by Denver’s Boom Supersonic. United joins Japan
Airlines as the initial commercial customers for this new aircraft.
The vision of commercial supersonic travel was brought
into reality in 1976 by the Concorde, an aircraft documented in dozens of
books, but none more beautiful than this oversized publication by Frederic
Beniada and Michel Fraile. It is seen with commemorative materials given to
Concorde passengers. Photo: Frank Moriarty/Aerospace Perceptions
It’s been nearly two decades since the last flights of the
Concorde, the incredibly graceful airliners that brought supersonic travel into
reality from 1976 to 2003. And looking through the stunning photography in the beautiful
book Concorde by Frederic Beniada and Michel Fraile, it’s little wonder
that this aircraft had dedicated fans of its futuristic stance.
An Overture depicted in the thin air of its cruising
altitude, 60,000 feet. Image: Boom Supersonic
Overture’s design hallmarks certainly call to mind its
predecessor. The long, thin body following a needle nose ready to pierce the sound
barrier, the wide sweeping wings with engines mounted below. But naturally, a
closer look reveals significant differences, including a subtle gull-wing
design to reduce noise and stress from the four engines.
All dressed up: Overture in the livery of United
Airlines. United will purchase 15 aircraft from Boom Supersonic, with an option
for 35 more. Image: Boom Supersonic
Of course, lighthearted tweets from corporate airlines do
little to dim the glaring suspicion of many raising environmental concerns about
the implementation of a new supersonic aircraft, particularly in the midst of a
week that has seen scorching ambient temperatures baking vast stretches of the
upper half of the planet. But United’s media materials are quick to note that
Overture’s propulsion is vastly different from the 1960s technology that was
the hallmark of Concorde. The airline’s announcement of its partnership with Boom Supersonic stressed: “Once
operational, Overture is expected to be the first large commercial aircraft to
be net-zero carbon from day one, optimized to run on 100% sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF)… United and Boom will also work together to accelerate production of
greater supplies of SAF.”
The first flights of an Overture aircraft are planned for
2026, with commercial air fleets taking to the skies within three years of the
test program.
