Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl predicts supersonic flight will be mainstream by 2040
Why It MattersThe prediction signals continued industry momentum toward reviving supersonic passenger travel, decades after Concorde's 2003 retirement, alongside parallel efforts like NASA's X-59.
Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl predicted in an interview with YouTuber Captain Steeeve that supersonic flight will become a normal part of commercial aviation by 2040, with speeds potentially exceeding Mach 3 by then. "Let's fast forward to 2040, a few years from now — supersonic flight should just be normal, and probably more than supersonic," Scholl said. "We'll know we've won when you have to convince kids that it used to take six hours to cross the country, and they're like 'Really?'"
Scholl said he wants to restore "the magic" to air travel, noting that flight was once "a very special thing" before becoming something "people mostly dread." Boom Supersonic has been developing a supersonic passenger aircraft widely described as a successor to the Concorde, which made its final commercial flight in 2003. NASA and Lockheed Martin are also developing supersonic aviation technology, including the X-59 Quesst experimental aircraft, designed to reduce sonic boom to a faint thud.
