The'mini concorde' that can fly 40 passengers from London to New York in 3.5 hours for $5,000 a time

A US firm hopes to make supersonic travel normal with a new lost cost plane.

Called Boom, the 40 seater aircraft would be able to fly from London to New York in 3.5 hours - with a ticket costing just $5,000.

The Denver firm behind it say they have already begun building prototype engines

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Called Boom, the 40 seater aircraft would be able to fly from London to New York in 3.5 hours - with a ticket costing just $5,000.

'The idea is for a plane that goes faster than any other passenger plane built before, but for the same price as business class,' 35 year old founder and ex Amazon employee Blake Scholl told Bloomberg. 

The plane will be built using a carbon-fiber composite instead of aluminum, and the firm says it simulates millions of designs each day. 

According to the simulations, Boom's design is quieter and 30 percent more efficient than the Concorde was. 

Its 40 seats will be split into two single-seat rows, so everybody has a window and an aisle. 

To reduce weight, the seats are of the standard domestic first-class variety, so no laydown beds. 

To cut flight time, Boom's plane will cruise at 60,000 feet, where passengers will be able to see the curvature of the earth, while going 2.6 times faster than other passenger planes. 

Scholl says about 500 routes fit the craft's market, including a five-hour trip from San Francisco to Tokyo and a six-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney.

'Boom was founded on the philosophy that we need to overcome the challenges to supersonic passenger flight, not surrender to them,' the firm says.

The firm hopes London to New York could be one of its most popular routes, with a 3.6 hour saving on a normal flight.

It also hopes to fly from LA to Sydney, and Tokyo to San Francisco.

'We're making a supersonic aircraft affordable for business travel. 

'Our ultimate goal is routine supersonic flight for everyone.'

The firm even has record breaking US Astronaut Scott Kelly as an advisor 

A mockup of the craft at Heathrow - its founders hope it will use existing airports once tests are complete.

Scholl says about 500 routes fit the craft's market, including a five-hour trip from San Francisco to Tokyo and a six-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney.

The craft will be built using carbon fibre, with standard jet engines.

'At our hangar in Denver, we're combining jet engines and carbon fiber, advanced design software and wind tunnel tests.

'We're building our prototype now—and will fly late next year.'

The first test flights will occur at Centennial Airport in Denver, with supersonic testing near Edwards Air Force Base in California.

'Today, international travel means jet-lag and days of lost productivity and family time. But imagine leaving New York in the morning, making afternoon meetings in London, and being home to tuck your kids into bed.

'Unlike Concorde, flying Boom is affordable—the same price as business class.' 

The firm even has record breaking US Astronaut Scott Kelly as an advisor.

THE ENGINEERING ICON THAT FLEW PASSENGERS FROM LONDON TO NEW YORK IN JUST THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS

Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet that was operated until 2003. 

It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 k per hour at cruise altitude) and could seat 92 to 128 passengers.

It was first flown in 1969, but needed further tests to establish it as viable as a commercial aircraft.

Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. 

The aircraft is regarded by many as an aviation icon and an engineering marvel, but it was also criticized for being uneconomical, lacking a credible market, and consuming more fuel to carry fewer passengers than a Boeing 747.

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft.

It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially. 

The other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which ran for a much shorter period of time before it was grounded and retired due to safety and budget issues.

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde's name, meaning harmony or union, reflects the cooperation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. 

In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as 'Concorde', without an article. 

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft.

Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) each received seven aircraft. The research and development failed to make a profit and the two airlines bought the aircraft at a huge discount.

Among other destinations, Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to New York-JFK, Washington Dulles and Barbados.

It flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners. 

Over time, the aircraft became profitable when it found a customer base willing to pay for flights on what was for most of its career the fastest commercial airliner in the world.

The aircraft is regarded by many as an aviation icon and an engineering marvel, but it was also criticized for being uneconomical, lacking a credible market, and consuming more fuel to carry fewer passengers than a Boeing 747.

Concorde was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the type's only crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and a decision by Airbus, the successor to Aérospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support.