American Airlines feels the need

The need… for speed!!!! The airline has paid a nonrefundable deposit to purchase 20 supersonic jets from Boom Hypersonic, the two companies announced yesterday, with the option for American to purchase up to 40 more.

✈️⏭ More deets: Supersonic refers to anything that goes faster than the speed of sound. Which Boom’s Overture jet – the model bought by American – certainly does, reaching speeds of Mach 1.7 (~1,300 mph, aka 1.7x the speed of sound), about twice the speed of conventional aircraft.

• That’d be fast enough to get from Miami to London in just under five hours, or from LA to Honolulu in three hours according to the announcement, which floated those two examples as just a couple “among many possibilities.”

👀 Looking ahead… This most recent supersonic deal brings Boom’s orderbook to 130 airplanes, including options, valued at $26 billion, CEO Blake Scholl said in an interview. The startup plans to unveil the Overture jet in 2025, have its first flight in 2026, then carry its first passengers by 2029.

But just one problem, as The Points Guy reports: the Overture doesn’t yet have an engine. Boom has partnered with Rolls-Royce on engine concepts, but the engine maker’s CEO, Warren East, recently told The Air Current that his company doesn’t have anyone currently working on the project.