Boeing unveils plans for world’s first hypersonic airliner that could fly from London to NYC in two HOURS

A new hypersonic plane could allow passengers to fly to New York from London in just two hours.

The as-yet-unnamed plane, developed by Boeing, would be able to reach speeds of around 3,800 mph – five times the speed of sound.

At this speed, travellers would be able to reach New York City in two hours – instead of the typical seven to eight hours it currently takes.

This could prove invaluable for businesses as workers could fly to meetings in the Big Apple and return home in the same time it takes for a plane to fly to Manhattan as it stands right now.

Kevin Bowcutt, chief scientist of hypersonics at Boeing, said: ‘Humankind has always wanted to go faster ‘ always wanted to do things faster.

‘People cannot make time, so there’s an inherent value in time.’

Stuart Craig, an assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona, added: ‘It’s been a dream for a while now.

MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO

• Alien ‘cigar’ asteroid showed strange ‘speed boost’ as it raced through solar system

• DNA tests which prove people’s ancestry ‘are complete bunkum’ says expert

• Theresa May angers her Brexit MPs amid claims she will try to keep the UK within the single market

• Wildlife artist captures rare footage of tawny owl bathing in bright sunshine during heatwave

• Here’s the scientific reason you never stop worrying about stuff

‘We’ve been striving for this hypersonic technology for the better part of half a century, but in recent years, advances in computational technology and materials technology have made it much more in grasp.’

The hypersonic plane would be able to travel at Mach 5 – compared to the Mach 2.04 Concorde was able to reach, allowing passengers to reach New York in four hours before the plane was permanently grounded in 2003.

Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s vice president of future airplane development said new technologies will allow them to make high-speed air travel more affordable to travellers.

If the plane is ever built, people on board can expect to fly at around 95,000 feet – around three times as high as the cruising level of current planes.

Rather than cruising at 30,000 to 40,000 feet, as is typical for conventional airliners, a hypersonic craft like the one proposed by Boeing would cruise at 90,000 to 95,000 feet.

Mr Bowcutt added: ‘At that altitude, you’re going to see the curvature of the Earth below you.

You won’t see the entire Earth, but you will see the curvature and above you, you’ll have the blackness of space.

‘It’s also a very smooth ride because there isn’t atmospheric turbulence at that altitude.’