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Supersonic airliner in doubt as company shifts to powering AI data centers
Boom’s airliner may be delayed, and its data center power business lost a customer.
Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl recently declared “it’s time for a renaissance in energy and in supersonic flight” as the supersonic airliner company unveiled a Colorado factory dedicated to making gas turbines for AI data centers. But Boom may be facing turbulence after early backers for both ventures have questioned the company’s delivery timeline or backed out entirely.
One of the company’s first customers, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, has expressed doubts about Boom’s original plan to deliver the first Overture supersonic airliner in 2029. Kirby’s latest frank assessment came during an interview with the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast that appeared on October 28, 2026.
“‘29 is their official timeline,” Kirby told podcast host Monica Langley. “It’s not going to happen in ‘29—it’s going to take longer.”
Boom first made headlines for flying its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft in 2024 and 2025 to demonstrate a “boomless cruise” concept that harnesses the Mach cutoff phenomenon. Such a feat involves flying just beyond supersonic speeds at higher altitudes under specific atmospheric conditions, so that the aircraft’s shockwaves refract upward and minimize the impact on the ground.
The company’s plan to revive supersonic air travel has been backed by the Trump administration via efforts to ease regulations. In June 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a new rule overturning a long-standing ban on commercial supersonic flights over the United States, following an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Boom’s press releases have previously described achieving aircraft certification and carrying the first paying customers by 2029. The company has conditional agreements with American Airlines, Japan Airlines, and United Airlines involving non-refundable deposits of unknown amounts that would allow the airlines to fully purchase the Overture aircraft once it becomes commercially available.
But United CEO Kirby pointed out that Boom still has “a lot of hurdles to overcome” while developing Overture and getting the supersonic airliner certified by the FAA. “So it’s not a guarantee that they’ll overcome,” he cautioned during the podcast interview, even though he praised Scholl and the company in general.
This follows Kirby’s earlier comments back in March that put the chances of Boom’s Overture airliner entering commercial service at “50-50.” Ars has reached out to Boom for comment.
Although Boom completed building the factory intended for production of the Overture airliner in 2024, the facility located at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, has mostly sat dormant since that time. That has raised questions for North Carolina state leaders who provided more than $50 million in taxpayer funding to help build the Overture factory.