Aerion is still hoping to convince an OEM partner to join it by the end of this year in its quest to build a supersonic business jet capable of sprinting from New York to London in just four hours. In the six months since the company began accepting orders for the sleek, $80 million twinjet, 40 would-be buyers have signed letters of intent backed by refundable deposits of $250,000. The question for Aerion now centers on whether the early interest in the airplane will be enough to persuade a major OEM to commit the billions of dollars needed for certification.
When Aerion was formed two and a half years ago, its internal market research predicted a market for as many as 300 such jets over 10 years. “But that survey did not even include demand from countries such as India, China and Russia,” said Aerion vice chairman Brian Barents. “If anything, we have underestimated global demand.”
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