However, if the plane had been sold to Virgin and hypothetically had the technical support of Airbus, then the airline would have secured a truly unique attraction in its fleet.

The route

If Virgin were to keep Concorde in commercial service, then it would have likely remained on transatlantic service between Virgin's hub in London and New York City. It is commonly known that supersonic air travel - and the sonic boom associated with it - is extremely noisy. Thus, Concorde was not permitted to fly over land in Europe. Whatever route Virgin would have flown Concorde, it would have attracted people worldwide. It would not have been considered a mode of transportation as much as an experience of a lifetime or a tourist attraction. Perhaps there would have been a few business travelers onboard as well. With time, maybe other cities along the US East Coast could have been recipients of Virgin's hypothetical Concorde fleet. We're thinking of cities such as Boston and perhaps Miami, although this city is 4,425 miles from London Heathrow, and Concorde's range was 4,488 miles. But, looking at Virgin's current long-haul operations, which other cities could have become targets for Concorde? Considering the supersonic travel ban, we believe Virgin destinations in the Caribbean (Nassau, Bridgetown, and Montego Bay) could have been eyed if technical specifications were met. Additionally, we recently published an article asking the question, what if Emirates had operated Concorde? In that article, we explore the possibility of a London-Sydney route which included several stopovers, including some in India. Virgin currently flies to Mumbai and Delhi. A Concorde flight could have theoretically to these two destinations via Cairo. The unique monopoly the airline would have secured with Concorde would make tickets easy to sell. However, the profits would also be offset by the extremely high cost of maintenance that these jets would have required. Virgin may have been shut down by British Airways over 15 years ago, but Virgin Galactic and Boom Supersonic briefly had a deal to acquire the Overture, the manufacturer's supersonic flagship jet, dubbed 'the New Concorde.'

Virgin Group and Boom Supersonic

In 2016, Virgin Galactic and Boom announced a partnership to acquire Overture aircraft. The Overture project aims to accommodate 65 to 80 passengers and expects to travel at a speed of Mach 1.7, equal to flying at approximately 1,300 miles per hour. Boom's ambitions are to reintroduce supersonic travel to commercial aviation. In fact, Boom promises travel times of three hours and 15 minutes between London and New York. A flight from Los Angeles to Sydney would take six hours and 45 minutes. Or how Boom puts it,

Speed isn’t about going really fast. It’s about closeness. It’s about making far away places feel like they’re right around the corner.

Nonetheless, it was reported that Virgin Galactic's options with Boom Supersonic have lapsed. According to the company expired in August 2020. In a statement recently sent to Simple Flying, Boom said,

"Virgin Galactic’s options from a 2016 agreement ended in 2020 at which point Boom Supersonic and Virgin mutually decided to allow the options to expire."

Photo: Boom Supersonic.

While the options with Boom Supersonic lapsed, Virgin Group continues to be interested in the development of high-speed forms of air travel. Meanwhile, Boom's commercial order book stands at 130 aircraft, including 35 orders with a non-refundable deposit and 95 pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.

Would you have flown a Virgin Atlantic Concorde? Or will you in the future if and when Boom produces a certified commercial jet? Let us know in the comments!

Source: The Independent.