In brief: Boom Supersonic has gotten another boost towards its goal of commercial supersonic flight by 2023. Boom founder Blake Scholl has announced a partnership with Japan Airlines, which invested $10 million in the company.

SUPERSONIC FLIGHT’S ROCKY PAST

We are one step closer to an affordable reboot of supersonic flight. Japan Airlines (JAL) has invested $10 million in the Denver-based aerospace company, Boom Supersonic, that’s planning to resurrect the method of travel. In exchange for their funding, JAL will be able to pre-order 20 of the new aircraft. The airline’s president, Yoshiharu Ueki, said in a press release from December 5: “Through this partnership, we hope to contribute to the future of supersonic flight with the intent of providing more time to our valued passengers while emphasizing flight safety.”

It’s been 14 years since British Airways and Air France grounded their Concorde fleets, and commercial air travel hasn’t hit supersonic speeds since. Fourteen of these planes ferried first-class passengers from New York to London at speeds of 1,353 mph (2177.44 kph) — twice as fast as the speed of sound — making the jaunt across the pond in only 3.5 hours. That’s about half the time it takes a normal passenger plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

But the supersonic travel industry was hampered by prohibitive costs. Not only did it need four times as much fuel per passenger as a Boeing 747 airbus, but the average cost of a round-trip ticket was $12,000. Passenger numbers also dropped dramatically after the fiery crash of Air France Flight 4590 in Paris killed everyone on board.

A “BABY” CONCORDE

“We’ve been working with Japan Airlines behind the scenes for over a year now,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic in the press release. The companies have been collaborating to improve the plane’s design for passengers on board in addition to technical aspects.