World’s fastest passenger jet hits near-supersonic speeds

You could take a high-speed flight from LA to Sydney — without stopping to refuel.

Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier has unveiled the Global 8000, a new plane with a maximum operating speed of 721 miles per hour — making it the fastest private jet in the world.

The challenge: From 1976 until 2003, the Concorde was the world’s fastest passenger jet, with a cruising speed of 1,354 mph. That’s more than double the speed of sound (767 mph, or Mach 1), and it meant passengers could get from New York City to London in under three hours.

Before Concorde even flew, however, the FAA prohibited supersonic planes from flying over land, due to concerns about the booms produced when they break the sound barrier, which limited supersonics to oceanic routes. Tickets were incredibly expensive due to the high cost of fuel, and the plane was unprofitable.

The Global 8000 is faster than any private or commercial jet since the Concorde.

Fastest private jet: Today, several companies are working to bring back supersonic flight, and Bombardier says a ​​proof-of-concept demonstrator for its newest offering, the Global 8000, exceeded the speed of sound during test flights in 2021.

It still isn’t legal to fly that fast over land, but the plane’s maximum allowable operating speed of Mach .94 is just shy of supersonic flight, so it’ll get people anywhere they want to go about as quickly as is legally possible — and faster than any other private or commercial jet since the Concorde.

The details: The Global 8000 can carry up to 19 passengers and boasts four individual suites. The cabin has a circadian lighting system to fight off jet lag and a filtration system that delivers the “fastest fresh air replacement,” according to Bombardier.

It has a range of 8,000 nautical miles, which means it could travel between Los Angeles and Sydney or New York and Hong Kong without stopping to refuel.

Development of the Global 8000 is ongoing, but Bombardier expects to have the plane ready to enter service in 2025, and the fastest private jet won’t be cheap — the list price is $78 million.

The big picture: The Global 8000 is a high-end private jet that will likely be used primarily by business execs and the very wealthy. The rest of us might be stuck at today’s commercial jet speeds for a little longer, but the next upgrade could have us moving even faster than Bombardier’s passengers.

United Airlines has already inked a deal with Denver-based startup Boom Supersonic to buy 15 of its in-development supersonic commercial jets. Those planes won’t be able to fly over land, either — at least until the FAA revises its regulations — but they’re expected to be 75% more efficient than the Concorde, so tickets should be more reasonable.

Bombardier expects to have the plane ready to enter service in 2025 with a list price of $78 million.

Atlanta-based startup Hermeus, meanwhile, is developing a hypersonic passenger plane capable of traveling at least 3,800 mph (Mach 5), without producing a sonic boom — if the FAA changes its speed limit into a noise limit (as NASA hopes it will), it could potentially fly over land.

Under the existing rules, the plane could still get you from New York to Paris in 90 minutes, compared to today’s 7.5 hours — and Hermeus says it expects tickets to cost about as much as today’s business class seats.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at [email protected].

Related
T-Minus Weekly: NASA’s first asteroid sample, Stoke’s big hop, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring NASA’s first asteroid sample, a Curiosity milestone, and more.
NASA has retrieved its first asteroid sample
NASA has just retrieved its first asteroid sample, bringing nearly 9 ounces of the asteroid Bennu to Earth.
Spending time in space can harm the human body − but scientists are working to mitigate these risks before we go to Mars
With NASA planning more missions to space in the future, scientists are studying how to mitigate health hazards that come with space flight.
T-Minus Weekly: Victus Nox, a record-breaking ISS mission, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest developments in space, featuring the launch of Victus Nox, a record-breaking mission, and more.
EV battery material breakthrough could cut charging times to 6 minutes
A new anode material could allow electric vehicle (EV) batteries to hold more energy and charge up faster.
Up Next
Subscribe to Freethink for more great stories