With a rate of $1190 for the cheapest room, New Orleans emerged top of the rankings.
14.12.2023 - 15:08 / forbes.com
Ask Blake Scholl about how Boom Supersonic is doing today and he’ll respond by telling you where he hopes his supersonic jet startup will be tomorrow. It’s a well-honed vision: “To build a future where more people travel more often. To do that, we need flights that are significantly faster, ultimately more affordable and a big leap forward in sustainability.”
“Imagine Tokyo to Seattle in 4.5 hours, imagine crossing the Atlantic in 3.5 to 4.5 hours,” says Scholl. “Imagine being able to vacation in Sydney in the time it would take you to get to Honolulu today.”
That’s the dream. Getting there, of course, is another matter. First is the technical challenge of transforming supersonic air travel, the limitations of which were famously illustrated by the Concorde, which went out of service 20 years ago. It was criticized as too expensive, loud (with shock waves that could shatter glass), fuel-guzzling and potentially unsafe following a crash that killed 113 people. “The story of Concorde was really about amazing technology but not a product that worked for the market,” says Scholl. “It’s definitely not easy.”
But that didn’t stop Scholl from launching Boom in 2014 to create his own supersonic jet in 2014. Although he’d earned a private pilot license in 2008, he came to aviation and aerospace as a former software engineer and co-founder of a mobile technology startup that he sold to Groupon in 2012. After studying the science behind supersonic travel, he felt the technical challenges had been overblown. As Scholl explains, “I just found a bunch of stale conventional wisdom that didn't stand up to even basic analysis that anybody with a spreadsheet and a web browser could do.”
“I just found a bunch of stale conventional wisdom that didn't stand up to even basic analysis that anybody with a spreadsheet and a web browser could do”
While Boom has made a number of technical advances, though, it’s also encountered its own challenges in developing Overture, a 65-88 seat passenger supersonic jet — from lapsed partnerships to growing competition. Through it all, Scholl has to engage employees, investors, vendors, regulators and consumers on a journey that could take at least 16 years from launch to execution So he’s focused on wins along the way.
“I'm really excited by our progress,” says Scholl, adding that test flights of its XB-1 experimental prototype aircraft could be weeks away. “I get a chill as I say that because it's gonna be a really big moment.”
Scholl argues that “ultimately supersonic flight could be less expensive than subsonic economy” fares. For more on how he hopes to achieve that, click on the video above.
With a rate of $1190 for the cheapest room, New Orleans emerged top of the rankings.
American Affair is the sister company of award-winning North America travel specialist Canadian Affair.
Flights will operate up to five times a week throughout the busy summer season from 30th May 2024 until 26th October.
Merging hospitality with the world’s top Asian destinations, Remote Lands is at the forefront of the luxury travel planning industry. The operator offers itineraries to 38 different countries on the Asian continent, highlighting the cuisine, heritage, and standout features of each. The company has teamed up with hospitality brand Aman to add a personalized element to its trips by jet.
This week, The Islands of The Bahamas and Alaska Airlines marked a significant milestone jointly welcoming first-ever passengers from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Nassau, the nation’s booming capital. Respectively launched on December 14 and 15, the new nonstop routes provide West Coast travellers with greater access to the coveted Caribbean paradise renowned for its pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters and vibrant culture.
New Orleans is the most expensive destination in the world for hotel stays over this year’s New Year’s Eve period, a new survey has revealed. he survey by TravelMag.com compared accommodation rates across 60 major global cities. For each destination, the price for the most affordable available double room for a 3-night stay from December 30 to January 2 was recorded. Only hotels with a central location and rated three stars or more were considered.
With airport security lanes getting clogged in the U.S., UK and elsewhere, the Department of Homeland Security is slated to begin a series of tests of self-screening lanes at several airports, with Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas the first on tap in January.
Another year has come and gone, and boy was this was a busy one for airline network planners across the country and around the world.
The most festive time of year is now and with just under two weeks left before the end of 2023, time is running out to explore some of the world's very best Christmas markets.
Virgin Atlantic will make it easier to fly between the United States and the United Kingdom next summer with added frequencies to both New York City and Boston.
Alaska Airlines is starting some new routes.
Philippine Airlines just joined American Airlines' ever-growing list of international partners, putting the Southeast Asian archipelago much closer in reach.