The "Aerion AS2," the world's first supersonic business jet, is expected to begin ferrying passengers from continent to continent -- and saving them precious time -- starting 2026.
The jet will be the first supersonic business aircraft in history, said its maker, Aerion Corporation, currently based in Reno, Nevada. The AS2, which the company said it designed as "the future of luxury," will also be the first supersonic aircraft to enter commercial service in 51 years since the Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde.
The Aerion AS2 will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.4 (1,600 km/h), which is 150% faster than today's fastest business jets. At this speed, an AS2 can jet its 12 passengers from New York to London in only 4.5 hours compared to the seven hours on a standard transatlantic flight.
The shortened travel times will also cut three-and-a-half hours off standard journey times from New York to Cape Town. It will also slash more than four hours off trips between JFK in New York City and Singapore and JFK and Sydney. AS2 will have a range of 8,800 km.
"We analyzed how business owners fly," said CEO and chairman Tom Vice.
"We looked at a company out of New York that flew business jets around the world, and when we substitute an AS2 for them and rerun those flights for every person who flew on their airplane, AS2 saved them 142 hours a year."
Vice said Aerion's aim is to build a future where people will be able to jet between any two points on Earth within three hours. He said that through supersonic flight, Aerion intends to "give time back to our customers. Time to connect, to love, to grow, to enjoy."
"We are committed to bringing people closer together in a more vibrant and compassionate world where distance is no longer a barrier, and to innovation that is kind to our planet," according to Vice.
Aerion sees AS2 as the first in a family of supersonic aircraft. It's already developing an AS3 airliner and hybrid-electric supersonic planes.
Each Aerion AS2 comes with a $120 million price tag, and the company plans to build 300 of these supersonic jets over 10 years and 500 overall.
Earlier this week, Aerion announced its plan to build a massive new global headquarters and manufacturing facility in Melbourne, Florida, ahead of AS2 production beginning in 2023.
The $300-million facility will be located near Melbourne-Orlando Airport. it will span 185,000 square meters of building space, taxiways, and other ground support facilities for Aerion supersonic jets. It will employ 675 people.
