‘Shannon could be at heart of new era of supersonic travel’

SHANNON Airport could be at the heart of a new era of supersonic transatlantic plane journeys, a leading travel expert has predicted.

Simon Calder, who has decades of experience in writing about the aviation industry, believes the Clare airport has a key role to play.

It comes as Boom Supersonic becomes the first private American company to break the sound barrier with a demonstrator jet.

It’s hoped the aircraft, which some of the major airlines have on order, will take to the skies by the end of the decade.

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And ultimately, they could see the journey time between Ireland and America slashed in half.

The test flight of Boom Supersonic represents the first time in 22 years that higher-speed travel has been attempted, since the demise of Concord.

“I think Shannon is extremely well placed to have a big supersonic base with people connecting from there to airports right across Europe,” said Mr Calder, who has more than 202,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter.

He made the initial comments on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland programme last week in the wake of the test flight over Mojave Desert in California.

The Boom Supersonic airliners are expected to be able to fly at twice the speed of today’s fastest commercial jets.

And Mr Calder says with Shannon’s location on the edge of Europe, there are huge advantages.

Speaking to Business Leader, he pointed out that while these new supersonic aircrafts will be able to fly over sea with impunity, when flying over populated areas, the speed will have to reduce down to that of regular airplanes, which cuts any competitive advantage, especially given the “copious” fuel the new supersonic jets would consume.

This, he argues, is where Shannon can come into play.

“A supersonic hub on the edge of Europe, where well-heeled passengers can transfer to ordinary planes to continue their journeys, could be one option,” he said.

Lisbon Airport, which is also on the edge of the continent, is another option.

But Mr Calder believes geography favours Shannon.

“It is astride the most direct track from New York to London, Brussels and Munich, and has loads of capacity,” he said.

Shannon Airport also offers pre-clearance, which means passengers arriving into American airports do not have to go through passport control.

He warned that it could be a while before there is commercial supersonic travel.

“But I may once again be proven wrong,” he warned.