![]() But, at best, it appears that future supersonic services will remain a niche, similar to Concorde.Īirlines would need to decide whether they can justify the operational expense and the environmental impact and passengers would have to be willing to pay up for what will no doubt be a rarified flying experience. Boeing recently joined the club of aspirants with a proposal for a hypersonic aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5 that could be ready to fly as soon as 2040, assuming the company sees demand. None of this squashes the romance of supersonic flight. airspace noise restrictions remaining in place which would prevent transcontinental supersonic flights. There is also some confusion on noise standard regulations within the U.S., with the FAA's current U.S. Introduction he sonic boom continues to be the main obstacle for civilian. efforts to draft new global noise standards that would support a future supersonic fleet is getting pushback from European countries which want to enforce stricter standards. Flight times and fuel consumption are compared to subsonic high-speed missions. This report follows questions raised on noise standards which may also complicate the re-launch of supersonic operations. Profitable operation of these aircraft would require revenue and yields high enough to recover these extra fuel costs." Current jet fuel prices of about $700 per metric tonne (IATA, 2018) mean that the fuel costs of transporting one passenger round-trip from San Francisco to Tokyo via SST would be around $1400, versus about $180 to $360 for subsonic economy class and business class, respectively. This runs counter to current airline strategies to acquire and develop aircraft which can reach longer non-stop distances.įuel is typically an airline’s single largest operating expense, accounting for 20 to 35% of overall airline operating costs. Flights between Los Angeles and Sydney would require a fuel stop in Tahiti. Flights between San Francisco and Narita airports would require a refueling stop in Anchorage, the authors predict. It would require refueling stops on key Pacific routes that currently are flown non-stop, and the logistics may cancel out at least some of the time advantage of supersonic travel. This analysis is a useful reminder that environmental standards will be needed to ensure that supersonics are reintroduced in a responsible way,” says Anastasia Kharina, study co-author and researcher at the ICCT.īeyond environmental considerations, the higher fuel burn of supersonic aircraft would make these operations significantly more costly for airlines and potentially less attractive to flyers. ![]() But even at these speeds, future supersonic aircraft may sound different from those designed for subsonic flight due to design differences, including different types of engines. “People are understandably excited about the prospect of boarding a supersonic jet in the near future. During takeoffs and landings, supersonic aircraft fly subsonic or slower than the speed of sound.
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