One jet start up plans to pave the way to the future with hypersonic travel, claiming to cover the New York to London route in 90 minutes.
We're not new to the stories of companies trying to upgrade flight time and public air transportation. The most notable example being the cooperative venture of European countries, forming the company Concorde.
Concorde tragically met disaster in July 2000 en route to New York from Paris. Debris from the jet's burst tire caused the fuel tank rupture, resulting in the plane bursting into flames - claiming 109 lives.
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The jet start up - Destinus - now aims to succeed where Concorde fell short. With plans to cut Concorde's claim of two-three hours flight time, to just an hour and half.
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Destinus bases its company mission around 'hypersonic travel' plans to lead the transportation industry with the motto: 'The fastest way to move around the planet.'
Two of its designs are currently in development.
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The first is the Destinus S. - a hypersonic passenger plane resembling a private 'business jet' - holding around 25 people.
Destinus S. would cruise at around 108,000 ft which is over double that of the cruise altitude of the airliner Boeing 737. Destinus' would achieve Mach 5 (hypersonic speed) allowing it to fly from New York to London in just an hour and a half. To put into context, Mach 5 is about five times the speed of sound.
To address any potential sustainability concerns, the jet would use liquid hydrogen as fuel and ramjet engines would power the jet. The afterburner would boost speeds from subsonic to supersonic, until the ramjet propels the jet to hypersonic speeds.
Gen. Michel Friedling, member of the Destinus advisory board, commented: 'Hypersonics will revolutionise the technology and use of aviation in the 21st century.'
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It's all sounding very futuristic.
Though, the planning don't stop there. Destinus has its eyes on the future with plans to introduce a larger model come the 2040s - called the Destinus L.
Back in June earlier this year, the Destinus L. prototype was first introduced at Paris Air Show. Destinus' senior business development manager, Martina Löfqvist commented on its design saying: 'It's somewhere of a mix between a rocket and an airplane.'
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The beast-size of the jet is set to carry 300-400 passengers to any global destination in two to three hours, reaching speeds up to Mach 6. Talk about a rocket speeds!
The Destinus L. will also be fuelled by cryogenic hydrogen. And we may not even have to wait until the 2040s to board it!
First deliveries of the Destinus L. are expected around 2032 to 2035.