Boom's XB-1 Broke the Sound Barrier Without an Audible Boom, but Overture's Commercial Case and 2029 Date Remain in Doubt
Why It MattersRegulatory and technical barriers to overland supersonic flight are easing, yet United's CEO doubts the 2029 Overture date, so a commercial supersonic market still looks years away and likely niche.
Boom Supersonic's XB-1 demonstrator reached Mach 1.122 over the Mojave Desert on January 28, 2025; according to the company, no audible sonic boom reached the ground. The privately funded three-engine aircraft closed out its program in February after 13 flights and six supersonic runs, with a top speed of Mach 1.18. On June 30, the FAA proposed repealing the 1973 ban on civil supersonic flight over land, provided ground overpressure from the boom does not exceed 0.11 psf; a final rule is expected in mid-2027.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, the first US customer for Boom's Overture airliner, said on the Office Hours podcast that the official 2029 timeline "is not going to happen in 2029; it's going to take longer," after giving the project "50-50" odds in March. Boom's current plan calls for Overture flight tests in 2027. The XB-1 itself flew in March 2024, more than five years later than first promised. The Overture is described as burning 5 to 7 times more fuel per passenger than a modern subsonic aircraft and as dependent on scarce sustainable aviation fuel.
Boom's Greensboro, North Carolina factory, completed in June 2024 with more than US$50 million in state funding and a promise of 1,761 jobs, has not yet built an aircraft; at the end of 2024 the company laid off half of its 260 employees. Its book of about 130 orders and pre-orders, including American Airlines, United and Japan Airlines, is conditional on delivery as promised. To fund certification, Boom opened a factory in Centennial, Colorado on October 22 to build Superpower, 42 MW gas turbines for AI data centers derived from the Overture's Symphony engine.
Prior supersonic efforts offer little precedent for profitability: only 14 Concorde aircraft ever operated, and its development costs were never recovered; Aerion shut down in May 2021 despite 93 orders worth US$11.2 billion; Exosonic closed in November 2024. The most likely outcome is a niche of a few dozen aircraft on premium transatlantic routes rather than a mass supersonic fleet.
