China-based online travel service provider Ctrip has completed a strategic investment in supersonic airplane developer Boom Supersonic.
The proceeds of the investment will be used by Boom to develop the Mach-2.2 airliner.
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The two companies are working on a project to bring supersonic flight to China. The partnership will leverage Ctrip’s knowledge of the Chinese market, allowing Boom to develop its ongoing collaboration with the country’s airlines.
It will further enable Boom to explore the arrangement of ten to 15 seats for Ctrip customers on one of its first supersonic commercial flights.
The supersonic flights are expected to half travel times from China to the US, South Asia, and Oceania.
Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl said: “San Francisco to Shanghai, for example, could shrink from 11 hours to six, and a typical round-trip itinerary can be accomplished two whole days faster.
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By GlobalData“But the benefits of faster travel extend far beyond the time savings. What really matters are the new trips you choose to take, the ones you otherwise wouldn’t have considered because the journey was simply too long.
“When we fly twice as fast, the world becomes twice as small, turning far off lands into familiar neighbours.”
Boom’s Mach-2.2 airliner will be able to transport 55 passengers at Mach 2.2 or 2,335km/h, which is more than twice as fast as current passenger planes, flying at the same cost as business class fares.
The airliner is scheduled to enter service by mid-2020s.
Boom previously received a $10m investment and pre-order of 20 aircraft from Japan Airlines, in addition to an order from Virgin Group.
