Despite the gloomy economy and the uncertainty surrounding business aviation, Reno (Nevada) based Aerion Corporation is still pushing through with its Concord like Aerion Supersonic Business Jet and apparently already has around 50 orders. The US$80 million jet, according to the company’s website, will revolutionize business aviation:
In the near future, it will be possible to take off from Paris at 8 a.m. for a breakfast meeting in Manhattan. One will be able to fly from the East Coast of North America to Asia in just nine and a half hours.
It will be possible to traverse the United States at .98 Mach with operating costs equivalent to today’s large business jets, while still being able to access all the airports where most business jets operate now and meeting applicable noise and emissions regulations.
The SBJ cabin will allow for layouts that will comfortably seat 8 to 12 passengers in a cabin (with flat floors) that is 6’2’’ in height, 6’5’’ in width and 30’ in length (hence, enough space for up to three seating areas plus a full galley and a lavatory big enough for comfort).
Aerion still has a number of hurdles to face (development costs are estimated to be between US$1.2 to 1.4 billion) in order to bring this dream to reality – hopefully by 2014.
