When each “unit” you’re selling is priced at $80 million, and there is a pent up worldwide demand, you can rack up impressive numbers in a hurry. Aerion, which is committed to developing and producing a supersonic business jet, left last month’s EBACE show in Switzerland having sold the equivalent of a dozen-plus aircraft-a tally that boosted its order book by a cool $1 billion to a total of $4 billion. According to some heady arithmetic, that represents 50 airplanes. The Aerion supersonic business jet is expected to have a range that is roughly the same at both subsonic and supersonic speeds and should exceed 4,000 nautical miles. The aircraft will be designed to have a low sonic boom signature and cruise at up to Mach 1.1 with no boom at all. Its maximum cruise speed will be Mach 1.6. As staggering as the numbers are, the task ahead remains daunting, including not only the technical challenge of designing a Mach-busting bizjet at a profit, but also the political challenge of gaining regulatory approval. But for company vice chairman Brian Barents, so far, so good.
Supersonic Business Jet Racks Up Orders
Key Takeaways:
- Aerion secured an additional $1 billion in orders at the recent EBACE show, boosting its total order book to $4 billion for 50 supersonic business jets.
- The planned supersonic business jet will feature a range exceeding 4,000 nautical miles, a low sonic boom signature, and a maximum cruise speed of Mach 1.6.
- Despite strong sales, Aerion faces significant technical hurdles in designing the profitable jet and political challenges in gaining regulatory approval.
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