Originally Posted by
MinRest
I hope it comes to fruition. As a plane geek, this has always been a cool concept. I really don’t see a domestic market for it though if the idea is to fly it subsonic. The acquisition cost is going to be much higher I would assume, than a similar class cabin. Hell, modern Gulfstreams fly above .95. Now if the AS2 can really sustain 1.4 that will be impressive. If it can only do 1.1, 1.2 I’m not sure it will be as mind blowing to consumers as they think it will, after the novelty wears off.
The G650 is certified to .925 which is the fastest civil airplane flying (okay, the "new" Citation X bumped from .92 to .93 - in a tube half the size) A buddy flies the G650 and he says the fuel suck escalates dramatically to go from their normal cruise of .86 to high speed at .92 although it's nice to have that speed in your back pocket when you're late for a slot.
I've followed the Aerion project since well before it's current form. 4200-4500 mile range at 1.4 was the number they settled on for the balance point where the time on the tech stop for North America to/from Asia could be sufficiently overcome by cruise speed and North America to/from most of Europe would be doable.
Aerion claims the current design can be "boomless" to 1.2 but that would still require a regulatory change. There have been hearings in DC on the regulations and the environmental Gretas turned out to decry "raping the environment" yet again to benefit the uber-rich. Difficult optics and a tough sell in cancel-culture America. I don't see the rules changing for over land supersonic flight. Ever.
Ultimately, I see it coming down to the powerplant being flexible enough and efficient enough to make the numbers work. Safran couldn't do it but maybe GE can with the Passport.