The Contour of Luxury Summer 2019 | Page 559

ing Supersonic jet travel is here... ...or, rather, it is back after a hiatus of a little over fifteen years. The Aérospatiale British Airways Concorde (previously known as the premier British-French turbojet-powered passenger airliner) ended the age of supersonic jet travel in 2003, but a collaborative effort between Boeing and Aerion are revitalizing supersonic jet travel for the modern age. Out of all the luxurious and sumptuous ways to traverse around the world, one may wonder why travelling by supersonic jet hasn’t become to fruition in the 21st century. Though turbojet-powered travelling has been accessible since the 70s, maintaining technological development to that magnitude has proven to be troublesome, hindering engineers from constructing supersonic turbo jets in this century. Now, the innovative ingenuity at Boeing and Aerion combined with the advanced technology of today is breathing new life into this glamorous and luxurious mode of transportation. Designed to fly at Mach 1.4, the AS2 aircraft supersonic passenger aircraft by Boeing and Aerion are preparing to return civilian supersonic voyaging to the market by 2023. General Electric is developing the engine for the AS2. The engine is called the Affinity and it is capable of a 60,000-foot altitude ceiling and features a special non-augmented supersonic exhaust system to alleviate noise generated by AS2 when it takes off for flight. The Boeing-Aerion AS2 aircraft, flying at 1610 kilometers per hour and costing $120 million, will become representative of luxury business-travel with its ability to take passengers from New York to London in a little over 3 hours.