Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective contributing to $100M funding round for Boom Supersonic

Will some of that $100M be to subsidize the losses that will come with supersonic transport?  You can't make money on planes that size that need all the special gate equipment and excess fuel.  It's a novelty, as was the Concorde which was used to reward the tier members as very few people paid the cash it cost to ride on the Concorde.  Anything that brings a new plane to the market I'm a fan of, but the technology doesn't exist to make a profitable business plan using supersonic travel.  There is zero chance they can get the CASM in line with subsonic travel at 55 seats on the plane and have a RASM >$0.  

airnerd said:

Will some of that $100M be to subsidize the losses that will come with supersonic transport?  You can't make money on planes that size that need all the special gate equipment and excess fuel.  It's a novelty, as was the Concorde which was used to reward the tier members as very few people paid the cash it cost to ride on the Concorde.  Anything that brings a new plane to the market I'm a fan of, but the technology doesn't exist to make a profitable business plan using supersonic travel.  There is zero chance they can get the CASM in line with subsonic travel at 55 seats on the plane and have a RASM >$0.  

Those were slower times, the Concorde era. The market outlook has improved for faster global transport. More people with wider connections with more money. The Concorde was just ahead of its time.

 The imperative with these things in the history of technology is that they will be done if they can be done. Example: landing and reusing first stage rocket boosters.

"Our interest in boom is driven by its vision to enable greater human connection and more empathetic natural and cultural experience through ecologically conscientious design," advised Emerson Collective managing partner Andy Karsner in a press release.

That’s some fluffy PR speak there.

airnerd said:

Will some of that $100M be to subsidize the losses that will come with supersonic transport?  You can't make money on planes that size that need all the special gate equipment and excess fuel.  It's a novelty, as was the Concorde which was used to reward the tier members as very few people paid the cash it cost to ride on the Concorde.  Anything that brings a new plane to the market I'm a fan of, but the technology doesn't exist to make a profitable business plan using supersonic travel.  There is zero chance they can get the CASM in line with subsonic travel at 55 seats on the plane and have a RASM >$0.  

As advanced as the Concorde was for its time, there have been huge advances in technology since then that have the potential to eliminate many of the problems that plagued running the Concorde program.  Advances in fuel efficiency, materials, and modeling have gone a long way since then.  I'm sure they have quite a few people that ran the math to hopefully make this program work.  I'm excited for what possibilities will come from it, albeit I may never be able to ever afford a seat on that plane.