Supersonic jet startup Boom putting factory in North Carolina, expects passenger flights by 2029
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- The state that bills itself "First In Flight" will now be home to what could be the future of flight.
Boom, the Denver-based startup company developing what could be the first supersonic airliner since the Concorde, will build a factory at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, state government officials confirmed to ABC11.
Gov. Roy Cooper helped make the official announcement Wednesday at the airport.
The agreement that helped bring Boom to North Carolina ensures the company will create more than 1,750 jobs and invest more than $500 million by 2030.
The company said it expects to start test flights in 2026 and start flying passengers in 2029.
"It is both poetic and logical that Boom Supersonic would choose the state that's first in flight for its first manufacturing plant," Cooper said. "Like the success of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, this innovative company will succeed by transforming passenger air travel with speed and sustainable energy."
Video from the company's website showcases the sleek airliners that are dubbed to be the fastest and most sustainable available. In some examples listed, a flight from New York to London would take only three and half hours on its Overture aircraft.
Boom's announcement comes after Toyota announced it would bring a new electric car battery factory to the same area. Boom being a startup company is also no guarantee its ventures will succeed, as the jet-maker has yet to fully build its first aircraft for a test flight, let alone attach an engine to its prototype.
Boom this year, however, has secured a strategic partnership with the U.S. Air Force worth up to $60 million, and last year's funding exceeded $110 million, bringing the company's total funding to $270 million.
Negotiations between Boom and North Carolina began last year, as first reported by ABC11's newsgathering partners, the News & Observer.
