Is the supersonic Concorde set for a comeback?

By Stephen Ebert

Flying at 1,350 mph 60,000 feet above sea level, the Concorde was not only the height of luxury, it was also the pinnacle of aviation.

Concorde’s first flight in 1969 was a milestone in aviation, heralding supersonic transport with flights that halved the time of conventional airliners.

But in comparison to today’s jumbos, they were notoriously expensive. They were so costly that the British government made it a requirement that British Airways had to look for international co-operation to build them.

The initial fleet of nine Concorde cost around £23 million in 1977, estimated to be around £150 million in today’s prices. Running costs made Concorde unprofitable and unfeasible in the long term.

The fatal Air France Flight 4590, which crashed in France in 2000, killing all 109 on board didn’t quite spell the end of Concorde, but by then its quest to fly once more had been tempered by new regulations. Engineers working on getting the once Queen of the skies back in operation were thwarted by new safety rules which could not work with Concorde.

Its final flight came in 2003, with the last transatlantic flight between New York and London. It was the end of an era, and an end to the most famous name in aviation.

But was it the end to supersonic travel? The race to revive supersonic transport has already begun, with faster, more fuel efficient planes being lined up to replace Concorde, capable of flying from Paris to Tokyo in less than three hours.

EAD’s Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport (ZEHST) is just one of a new breed of supersonic aircraft. Primed for 2050, it will be powered by biofuel made from seaweed, reach speeds up to 5,000 kph using a combination of ramjets and rockets, and carry passengers above the Earth’s atmosphere. It will be both cost effective, and fast.

"Concorde was 1950s and 1960’s technology. The three different propulsion types we’re considering — one of which we have perfected for the Ariane rocket — could make this achievable by 2050," EADS spokesman Gregor von Kursell explains.

ZEHST won’t be alone. Hypermach recently unveiled plans for the SonicStar – a business jet capable of speeds as fast as Concorde at Mach 3.3, and 30 per cent more efficient than the engines used in Concorde. A London to New York flight will take just a couple of hours, says Hypermach.

The next generation of supersonic aircraft will be quieter too. Hypermach will use the latest technologies to reduce the sound of sonic booms over land to cut down on the sort of noise pollution associated with Concorde aircraft of old.

Take off

The first bookings are already being taken, with the first SonicStar flights due to take-off in 2021.

However, the first return of supersonic flights may arrive even sooner than that, as early as 2012, when Aerion, together with NASA, will test its Supersonic Business jet. It will be capable of taking passengers across the world in just a few hours. Unlike Concorde, the £47 million Supersonic Business jet promises to deliver running costs more in line with a Boeing 747.

Supersonic flights look destined for a return, but will they catch on? The high price of Concorde flights suggest that upcoming supersonic flights may cost just as much. One-way tickets between London to New York on Concorde costing upwards of £6,000. Like Concorde, access is likely to remain limited to corporate executives and those willing to pay a little more for comfort and speed.

As demand for faster air travel increases, supersonic air travel looks closer to becoming a reality once more.

— Agencies

The most famous way to travel around the world is scheduled for a come back. Watch this space. If you blink, you will miss it.