# Boom’s supersonic airliner faces delays as firm targets AI data centres

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/supersonic-airliner-in-doubt-as-company-shifts-to-powering-ai-data-centers/
- Published: 2026-10-30T21:41:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T23:08:08+00:00
- Original publisher: Ars Technica
- Original article: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/united-airlines-ceo-doubts-supersonic-airliner-from-boom-will-be-ready-by-2029/
- Topics: AI, Business, Companies, Technology

## Key points

- United’s chief doubts Boom will deliver its supersonic airliner by 2029.
- Overture still faces major development and FAA certification hurdles.
- Boom is targeting AI data centre turbine deliveries from mid-2027.

## Summary

United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby says Boom Supersonic’s Overture airliner is unlikely to meet its stated 2029 delivery timeline, raising fresh doubts about the company’s plan to bring back commercial supersonic travel. Boom has also shifted attention towards making gas turbines for AI data centres, as it seeks another source of revenue while developing the aircraft.

Kirby said Overture still faces significant development and certification hurdles, and that overcoming them is not guaranteed; in March, he put the chances of the aircraft entering commercial service at “50-50”. United, American Airlines and Japan Airlines have conditional purchase agreements with Boom, but the deposits and final purchases depend on the aircraft becoming commercially available. Boom’s Colorado factory is intended to produce 42-megawatt turbines, with first deliveries targeted for mid-2027; its planned North Carolina airliner factory, built with more than $50 million in state funding, has mostly sat dormant since 2024.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.