The supersonic era is back -- what US flights might look like with new jet

The supersonic era is back—what US flights might look like with new jet, as analysis suggests new supersonic aircraft could dramatically shorten travel times. Newsweek estimates major routes could be reduced by hours if a new generation enters service. A New York–Los Angeles trip of about five and a half hours could drop to just over three using projected speeds for NASA’s experimental X‑59. Transatlantic travel such as New York–London may fall from roughly seven to about four hours, and longer routes like Los Angeles–Sydney could be cut by as much as six hours. The estimates rely on NASA’s target cruise speed near Mach 1.4, about 1.6 to 1.8 times faster than conventional passenger jets, though actual times would depend on operational constraints and regulatory approvals. The article links the potential return to U.S. regulatory shifts: a June 2025 executive order directed replacement of the 1973 overland sonic-boom ban with a noise-based system, and in June 2026 the FAA proposed a similar update.