JoeDTW

Like some of you, I'm an avid aircraft model collector, so I'm hoping AA, DL, and other airlines sign tentative commitments for Booms, just so I can add models of Booms in these airlines' schemes to my collection.

A major diecast model maker has built limited edition Concorde models in the schemes of airlines that ordered Concorde, but never took delivery. I have models of Concordes in the colors of United, Continental, Air India, Lufthansa, TWA, and Sabena. It would be fun to have a collection of Boom models like this someday.

saltytheseagull

No, they won't. It's premature to call this a failure, but I am in the skeptical crowd as well.

aamilesslave

Air India

BearX220

I don't, because I don't think it is possible to neutralize the physiological effects of time zone jumping with supersonic flight times.

Tesla's an interesting analogy because Tesla, like Concorde, is a boutique product, more about status and image than practicality. Teslas cost $50k to $125k and owns aboout a 1% share of the US car market. It's creating buzz but not changing the world; Boom is Tesla, the Toyota Corolla is the standard 777.

lsquare

I guess we mind as well give up and just focus on making existing subsonic flights carbon neutral...

I'm pretty sure the Model 3 is cheaper than that. Regardless, Tesla is rumored to be introducing an even cheaper model in the near future. My point is that Tesla helped us realized that electrification of the car is possible. It has got the attention of the industry. It now has scale and will become cheaper over time. Perhaps Boom could be that moment that lits the spark?

Antarius

It is cheaper even without the tax incentives. My gf has one and it's a nice car. It isn't the be all and end all, but it definitely is something that few predicted would be this mainstream a mere few years ago.

trying new things is a good thing.

MarkOK

With regards to Tesla -- absolutely. Breaking through on electric car performance to the degree that Tesla has, has never been limited to needing 'a guy with a vision'. Electric cars have been around for a long time, the dream to get ones that act and perform well has been a regular feature in magazines for 50 years, and 20 years ago, a number of projects (startups and major manufacturers) were already working this. I would wager that without Tesla, we would have any number of other companies taking the limited space and market they have by now (and, to be frank, they'd be probably better run, more focused companies. I respect Tesla, my god, the amount of capital they have been awash in will do wonders anywhere and sucked the oxygen out of the room for too many other players).

I think of all the difficult things though, faster air travel just isn't one that works economically, let alone one that will capture the hearts and dreams of anyone outside of enthusiasts and the uber wealthy. People don't fly to Bali because it takes too long, people don't fly to Bali because they are poor.

Anyways, I enjoy this thread. I really find the Concorde program to be very interesting and though I never got to ride in one, I have read a handful of books about it and I travelled to Seattle recently in large part to visit one at the Seattle Air and Space Museum (highlight of my trip). What I see in Boom though is nothing short of a vanity project and I don't see why any airline should bother with it. UA is probably thinking why not get some free news stories and 'sign off' on a waffly agreement.

I can't really get excited about this -- The real breakthroughs in aviation that airlines should be exploring is how to get to a system of low (or no) CO2 emissions while still connecting the world in a way that is financially reachable for the masses.

writerguyfl

Right guy. Wrong business(es).

If you told me years ago that a private company (SpaceX) would be launching, landing, and reusing dozens of rockets annually, I wouldn't have believed you. And if you told me the company that doing it from Kennedy Space Center's hallowed Launch Complex 39A, I'd have said that's crazy talk.

(Of course, I never would have believed that the US would become dependent on Russia rockets to get our people to the International Space Station. But, that's off topic, I suppose.)

The other Musk company to watch is The Boring Company. It's still too early to tell, but they have the potential to disrupt public transportation in a positive way. Instead of spending billions to acquire land to build a rail line, in the near future a city might be able to spend a few hundred million for an underground busway.

As a person, I find Elon Musk to be rather off-putting. But, I can't deny he has vision and more importantly he seems able to hire the right people to make his ideas reality.

Tango

The goal would be to have high revenue passengers from AA and DL move to United.

teemuflyer

But if it's just for a couple of seconds.. most of us could handle that

Spanish

A good point.
But United has F board after half the airplane - couldn't get my overhead stuff stored for several rows back in economy the last time I mistakenly flew them E170/175 to save a buck. They'll have to work on that.