Summary

  • Boeing's 2707 featured seating for 292 passengers, a range of 6,400 km, and a top speed of Mach 2.7.
  • Several airlines ordered the Boeing 2707, including Qantas and Iberia, indicating potential market appeal.
  • Ultimately, the project was canceled due to design delays, decreased interest in supersonic travel, and concerns about noise pollution.

The United States did not sit idle as the Concorde took over the world in the last century. President John F. Kennedy established a competition in the US to develop an American competitor to the supersonic Concorde. The giant local aerospace manufacturer got to work and designed their aircraft, the Boeing 2707. But did this have a market appeal like its European counterpart? Let's explore.

What was the Boeing 2707?

The Boeing 2707 was the United States' answer to the Concorde. There was a prolonged contest between five plane manufacturers to win the supersonic transport (SST) funding, with Boeing beating out Lockheed and North American for the final design. The Boeing 2707 had the following specifications:

  • It could carry 292 passengers in two classes (28 in first with 40 inches of legroom and 264 in economy with 34 inches of legroom).
  • It would have a range of around 6,400 km or 3,500 nautical miles.
  • Four General Electric GE4/J5P turbojets would have powered it. Each would have provided 63,200 lb/f (281 kN) of thrust for a top speed of Mach 2.7.

Who ordered the Boeing 2707?

According to the early delivery schedule of the Boeing 2707, they had the following optioned orders:

Airline Orders
Aer Lingus 2
Air Canada 6
Air France 6
Air India 2
Airlift International 1
Alitalia 6
American 6
BOAC 6
Braniff 2
Canadian Pacific 3
Continental 3
Delta 3
Eastern 6
El Al 2
Iberia 3
JAL 5
KLM 6
Lufthansa 3
Northwest 6
Pakistan International 2
Pan American 15
Qantas 6
Trans-Am. 1
TWA 12
United 6
World Airways 3
Total 122

While some of these orders may have been a flight of fantasy (pun intended), there is concrete evidence to support others. For example, Qantas ordered six of these SSTs and planned to use them to fly to London from Sydney. It could have made the journey in 13 and a half hours with several refueling stops, such as Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, and Cairo. The airline explained in an article published in 2018,

"In 1964 Qantas paid a $600,000 ($16 million in today's money) deposit on six Boeing-manufactured supersonic SST aircraft. We also had options on four Concordes."

The Concorde program received about 100 options across 18 airlines, although only British Airways, Air France, and Iran Air converted these to committed orders. Only the first two ever commercially flew Europe's supersonic plane.

The translated tweet above says, "In 1966, Iberia placed the order for three SST #Boeing 2707 aircraft, machines capable of reaching 2.7 Mach. The project was canceled, and Boeing offered the 747s to companies that had advanced money. That is why Iberia was one of the first to operate the jumbo jet (Boeing 747)."

What happened to the project

By our estimates, each Boeing 2707 would cost an airline around $50 million in list prices in 1970 ($435.47 million today) compared to the Concorde, which was the equivalent of an Airbus A380 today ($444 million per aircraft). This number is a rough guestimate, as, at the time, the project was still under development, and Boeing hadn't figured out how much it would cost.

Boeing predicted that they would pay back all the costs for the program by the 300th aircraft and that the market could sustain 500 jets. Alas, only 122 options amounted to $24.1 million deposited in its bank account. Had there been double the number of orders, the project would likely have gone ahead.

Nonetheless, the lengthy design delays, a drop in commercial interest in supersonic travel, and concerns about the noise pollution created by aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound halted Boeing's project. But after dropping the SST program, Boeing focused on a project that would be beloved by airlines and travelers globally - the 747. Concorde also suffered; ultimately, only 20 Concordes were manufactured, with British Airways and Air France operating seven each. The remaining were test aircraft.

What do you think? Would you have flown onboard the Boeing 2707? Let us know in the comments.

  • 787-8 Dreamliner
    Boeing
    Stock Code:
    BA
    Date Founded:
    1916-07-15
    CEO:
    Dave Calhoun
    Headquarters Location:
    Chicago, USA
    Key Product Lines:
    Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787
    Business Type:
    Planemaker