Skip to content
Sign in
Technology · North America

United CEO says Boom’s 2029 Overture target will slip

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said Boom Supersonic will not deliver its Overture airliner on the company’s stated 2029 schedule. Boom has conditional purchase agreements with United, American Airlines and Japan Airlines, while Kirby said the aircraft will take longer to arrive.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 2 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 4 · R 0 · 1 unrated

What happened

Key facts

  • United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said Boom Supersonic's Overture jet will not meet its stated 2029 delivery timeline (per Ars Technica).
  • Boom has conditional agreements with American Airlines, Japan Airlines and United Airlines to purchase Overture aircraft when they are commercially available (per Ars Technica).
  • Boom press releases have described plans for aircraft certification and the first paying customers by 2029 (per Ars Technica).
  • Boom executive Scholl said the company planned to deliver about 250MW of Superpower turbines to other sites the following year, without identifying the data center customers (per Ars Technica).

The brief

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said Boom Supersonic will miss its stated 2029 target for delivering the Overture supersonic airliner, saying the aircraft will take longer to arrive. Kirby made the assessment in an interview with the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast that appeared on October 28, 2026. He described 2029 as Boom’s official timeline, then told host Monica Langley, “It’s not going to happen in ‘29—it’s going to take longer.”

Boom’s public plans have tied 2029 to both aircraft certification and the arrival of its first paying customers. The company has conditional agreements with United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines to purchase Overture aircraft when they become commercially available. Those agreements include non-refundable deposits, but the deposit amounts have not been disclosed. Kirby’s latest comments follow an earlier assessment in March, when he put the chances of Overture entering commercial service at “50-50.” His remarks address the aircraft’s commercial-service prospects as well as the delivery schedule; Boom’s stated plans, meanwhile, include certification and first customers by 2029. Boom is also developing a separate business supplying power equipment to data centers. On October 22, the company unveiled a factory in Centennial, Colorado, dedicated to producing Superpower, a natural-gas turbine rated at 42 megawatts. The factory opening is distinct from the Overture program, though both are part of Boom’s business activity. Boom executive Scholl said the company planned to deliver about 250MW of Superpower turbines to other sites the following year. Scholl did not identify the data center customers that might use the turbines. The stated delivery plan therefore gives a quantity and a timeframe, but not the customers’ names. The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a rule in June 2026 to overturn the U.S. ban on commercial supersonic flights, following an executive order from Donald Trump. That is a proposed regulatory change, not a statement that the ban has already been overturned. Kirby’s comments focus on Boom’s timetable, while the agency proposal concerns the regulatory setting for commercial supersonic flights.

Why it matters

  • A delay would leave United, American and Japan Airlines without the planned supersonic aircraft on their expected timelines, forcing them to plan around conventional jets for longer and postponing any faster passenger service. For Boom, missed certification and delivery milestones could weaken airline confidence and complicate efforts to turn conditional purchase agreements into firm orders and revenue.

What to watch next

  • Whether Boom revises its stated 2029 plans for Overture certification and first paying customers.
  • Whether United Airlines, American Airlines or Japan Airlines exercise their conditional purchase agreements when Overture becomes commercially available.
  • Whether Boom identifies the data center customers for its planned Superpower deliveries.
  • Whether the Federal Aviation Administration advances its June 2026 proposal to overturn the U.S. ban on commercial supersonic flights.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 4 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Europe 20% · Other 40%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
4 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (4 of 4 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The FAA prohibited civil aircraft from producing sonic booms over the United States.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Blake Scholl founded Boom Supersonic.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Japan Airlines invested in Boom in 2017 and agreed to consider purchasing 20 aircraft.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. United Airlines conditionally agreed to buy 15 Overture jets, with an option for 35 more.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. American Airlines conditionally agreed to buy 20 Overture jets, with an option for 40 more.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Boom’s XB-1 demonstrator made its first flight.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Boom’s XB-1 demonstrator completed its first supersonic flight.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Boom’s Overture program dates to 2016, when Boom Supersonic publicly unveiled its proposed passenger jet and began developing the XB-1 demonstrator. Japan Airlines invested in Boom in 2017 and agreed to consider purchasing 20 aircraft.

United announced a conditional agreement on June 3, 2021, for 15 Overture jets, with an option for 35 more; American Airlines announced a conditional agreement for 20, with an option for 40, on August 16, 2022.

Original sources

1 of 5 articles · Europe · Show all

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.