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| A screengrab of supersonic private business jet AS2 (video below) |
November 19, 2015, NewsCrunch
Airbus is building a new supersonic jet, AS2, that will speed up air travel shaving off almost two-thirds of the present flight time.
The AS2 plane, dubbed ‘Son of Concorde’, will hit speeds of 1,217mph, reports Daily Post.
Airbus has partnered with Aerion to develop AS2, which will start test flights in 2021. The first commercial flights for businesses is expected to be available in 2023.
Here is the bad news.
The economics of AS2 is not clear. It is being developed as a private business jet for the likes of Ambanis. There is no information on when it will be released for the passenger market.
The epithet ‘Son of Concorde’ may prove to be ominous for AS2. Concorde, which introduced supersonic travel in the ‘70s became commercially unviable and ran into many unforeseen issues.