Flying across the world can still take a long time, but one company is working to change that. It is working on a new commercial jet airplane that will be able to travel faster than the speed of sound. These planes will be able to travel across the world faster than any other passenger plane in history.

Startup company Boom Supersonic announced that it has raised over $40 million (about ¥4.5 billion) in funding to begin work on a prototype airplane. When completed, the plane will fly at more than twice the speed of sound. Sound travels at 1,235 km per hour, or 343 m per second. A plane that fast would be able to go from Tokyo to San Francisco in just over five hours. Right now, a flight from Tokyo to San Francisco can take over nine hours. The plane could also travel from New York to London in only three and a half hours. That flight usually takes over seven hours. The ability to cut these flight times in half could change how people do business or even how they take vacations.

Boom will finish building the prototype plane this year. Their prototype will be a miniature version of their planned full-sized plane and will only hold two people. If the prototype proves to be successful, then Boom will begin work on a full-sized version that will hold 45 people. Boom plans to have the full-sized test plane ready by 2020. Right now, the startup company wants to be ready to sell the planes to airlines by 2023. Virgin Atlantic has already agreed to buy the first jets that will be for sale to airlines.

The only other passenger plane that could travel faster than the speed of sound was the Concorde. Concorde planes flew from 1976 until 2003. Because of their high cost, they were never very successful. Between their high maintenance costs and limited ticket sales, airlines stopped using Concorde planes in 2003.

Boom was founded by Blake Scholl, a computer programmer and amateur pilot who previously worked for Amazon. He says that his planes will succeed where Concorde’s failed.

“Concorde’s designers didn’t have the technology for affordable supersonic travel, but now we do,” he said.

Tickets for the plane will cost around $5,000 (about ¥560,000). That’s about the same as a business class ticket on a regular plane. If the plane is a success, Boom says it will sell more affordable tickets in the future.

Flying across the world can still take a long time, but one company wants to change that. Startup company Boom Supersonic is building a new passenger airplane. It will fly faster than the speed of sound. This plane will be able to fly faster than any other passenger plane before.

Boom Supersonic said it has raised over $40 million (about ¥4.5 billion) in funding. The money will be used to start work on a prototype airplane. When the plane is finished, it will be able to fly at more than twice the speed of sound. Sound travels at 1,235 km per hour, or 343 m per second.

A plane that fast would be able to fly from Tokyo to San Francisco in about five hours. Right now, a flight from Tokyo to San Francisco can take over nine hours. The plane could also fly from New York to London in only three and a half hours. That flight usually takes over seven hours. The much shorter flights could change how people do business. It could also make going on vacation a lot easier.

Boom will finish building the prototype plane this year. Their prototype will be smaller than a full-sized plane. The prototype plane will only hold two people. If the prototype is a success, then Boom will begin work on a full-sized plane. The full-sized plane will be able to hold 45 passengers.

Boom plans to have the full-sized test plane finished by 2020. The company wants to sell the planes to airlines by 2023. Virgin Atlantic has agreed to buy the first planes Boom Supersonic sells.

Only one other passenger plane could travel faster than the speed of sound. It was the Concorde. Concorde planes flew from 1976 until 2003. They weren’t very successful. Taking care of the planes was expensive. Also, tickets were very expensive. Airlines stopped using Concorde planes in 2003, because they didn’t make money.

Blake Scholl, a computer programmer and amateur pilot, founded Boom. He used to work for Amazon. He says that his planes will make money, even though the Concorde planes did not make that much money.

Tickets for the plane will cost around $5,000 (about ¥560,000). That’s about the same price as a business class ticket on a regular plane. Boom says if flights on the plane are popular, then it will sell less expensive tickets in the future.