Virgin Group has decided not to buy 'Overture' supersonic jets

Its a blow

This news will disappoint aircraft enthusiasts who long to see a new "Concorde-like" aircraft revive supersonic travel—especially considering the advancements made by Boom Supersonic with its "Overture" aircraft. At the Paris Air Show held in June 2023, it was announced that Aernnova and Aciturri, both based in Spain, will be responsible for creating the wing and empennage of the "Overture," while Leonardo from Italy will manufacture the fuselage and oversee system integration for this supersonic plane.

However, as a Boom spokesperson told Interesting Engineering via email (edited for clarity), "Virgin Galactic’s options from a 2016 agreement ended in 2020, at which point Boom Supersonic and Virgin mutually decided to allow the options to expire. Boom’s commercial order book stands at 130 aircraft, including 35 orders with non-refundable deposits and 95 pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines. We maintain a strong relationship with Virgin and look forward to continued discussions about sustainable supersonic travel with their team."

In January 2019, Boom Supersonic announced receiving $100 million in a Series B investment round. It stated that its future customers would include Virgin Group and Japan Airlines, who had pre-ordered 30 "Overture" airliners. However, recent press releases from November 2020 onwards do not mention Virgin Group's pre-orders of any Overture aircraft.

On its "Partners" page, Boom Supersonic only lists American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines as airline partners, alongside other component and production suppliers. But this would make complete sense, given Boom Supersonic's comments to IE.

“We are incredibly proud of the progress with 'Overture' and 'Symphony' [its engines] from our global team of partners and suppliers who continue to operate at an accelerated pace toward the future of sustainable supersonic flight,” said Bake Scholl, the founder and chief executive officer of Boom Supersonic, at the time. 

Still has orders

At the event, Boom Supersonic revealed they had received orders for 130 aircraft for their "Overture" model. The production of the "Overture" will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO). The company has shared that the factory is progressing well and is expected to commence production in 2024 as planned. 

“Virgin Galactic’s options from a 2016 agreement ended in 2020, at which point Boom Supersonic and Virgin mutually decided to allow the options to expire. Boom’s commercial order book stands at 130 aircraft, including 35 orders with non-refundable deposits and 95 pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines. We continue to maintain a strong relationship with Virgin and look forward to continued discussions with their team about sustainable supersonic travel,” a Boom Supersonic spokesperson told AeroTime in an email.

*This article has been updated after correspondence was received by Interesting Engineering by a Boom Supersonic representative.