Supersonic airliner in doubt as company shifts to powering AI data centers

Boom Supersonic’s plan to launch its Overture passenger airliner by 2029 is increasingly uncertain. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says delivery will take longer, and warns the company still faces major development and FAA certification hurdles; in March he put the odds of commercial service at roughly even. United, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines have conditional purchase agreements with deposits, but the amounts are undisclosed. Boom’s North Carolina airliner factory, completed in 2024 with more than $50 million in public support, has largely remained idle. The company’s earlier XB-1 test flights demonstrated a “boomless cruise” approach, while NASA’s X-59 is pursuing a separate method of reducing sonic booms.

Meanwhile, Boom is seeking revenue from the surge in demand for data-center electricity by building natural-gas turbines. Its Colorado factory is intended to produce 42-megawatt units, with initial deliveries targeted for mid-2027 and production rising to 50 turbines annually by 2029. But data-center developer Crusoe withdrew from a reported $1.25 billion agreement for 29 turbines. Boom says it expects to deliver about 250 megawatts to other customers next year, without naming them. The company argues that its turbine work supports the airliner program because both products are meant to use its Sprint Core engine design. A prototype is due for its first firing before Thanksgiving, but neither business has yet demonstrated that it can meet its ambitions.