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One of the odd aspects of modern air travel is that it's not really getting any faster. Ever since British Airways retired its money-losing supersonic Concorde in 2003, airlines have generally stuck to top speeds of around 615 miles per hour. That'll get you from New York to San Francisco in five or six hours, depending on the winds, but you can't find a plane that will get you there significantly sooner.
We've largely learned to tolerate our slow, boring aircraft. But there's a compelling case that we shouldn't — that air travel should actually be much, much quicker.
Right now there are a host of energetic startups and NASA engineers working on sleek new supersonic jets that could fly twice as fast as today's commercial planes, if not faster. These jets would be major upgrades on the noisy, fuel-squandering Concordes of old, and they could be ready within the decade.
When you talk to people working on these super-fast planes, it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement. Take Blake Scholl, the CEO of Boom, a startup that's working with Virgin Galactic to put a new supersonic business jet into service by the early 2020s. He envisions a day when anyone could cross the Pacific or Atlantic in just a few short hours. "It changes how you think about the world," he tells me.
So what say you, Soylentils? Do the political, environmental, technical and economic challenges standing against these efforts outweigh the benefits of supersonic air travel? Should supersonic flights become common or even ubiquitous?
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Thursday November 17 2016, @12:32AM
Hmm, I haven't driven to Spain directly yet. I have driven from the UK to the south of France near the Pyrenees, took around 8 hours, although Google maps lists it as 12h, so I guess they are a bit pessimistic. Perhaps it would be 12 hours if you actually follow googles recommendation to go straight through Paris in rush hour. If you time it right you can avoid the traffic and pass through more or less unscathed.
From there it is about 3h to Barcelona (my mate drove this leg), so if I really wanted to in theory I could have done from the UK to Barcelona in 10-12 hours.
However, if your preferred holiday destination is further south in Spain, then yes, you will be looking in excess of 12 hours.