United Airlines sees a supersonic future

United Airlines hopes to bring back supersonic travel before the end of this decade

United Airlines aims to bring back supersonic travel before the decade is over with a plane that has yet to be built. The airline said Thursday that it plans to buy 15 jets from Boom Supersonic with an option for 35 more once the start-up company designs a plane that flies faster than the speed of sound while meeting safety and environmental standards. United declined to discuss terms of the deal, including how much cash it will put into the deal up front. It has been nearly two decades since the last flight of the supersonic Concorde, which British Airways and Air France began using in 1976 to zip passengers in luxury across the Atlantic. The last one was retired in 2003, three years after an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel shortly after takeoff from Paris, killing everyone on board and four people on the ground.