Richard Branson's new supersonic aircraft can reach New York in 3.5 hours

Richard Branson and Boom Technology have collaborated to create a commercial aircraft that can fly from London to New York in half the time, for the same price as most business class tickets

Eccentric billionaire Sir Richard Branson has just unveiled the prototype for a new supersonic plane that boasts the ability to send travellers between London and New York in under three and a half hours – much like Concorde – cutting the current journey time in half.

Nicknamed ‘Baby Boom’, the aircraft can carry up to 40 passengers and has a cruising speed of 1,451mph, making it the world’s fastest civil aircraft ever created.

Sadly, you won’t be able to buy tickets for their commercial flights until 2023, with the journey estimated to cost upwards of £2,500 per person. This puts it on par with most business class seats between the two destinations.

The XB-1 and Boom commercial jet are set to have their first test flights early in 2017

The aircraft will boast the most latest technology, allowing you to use the Internet and stream live TV

Baby Boom fits 40 passengers very comfortably

Despite other aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing working on their own supersonic spacecraft, Virgin and Boom are hoping to beat the competition to market by using existing technology that has already been approved by regulators.

Branson has always worked at being at the forefront of commercial aerospace technological developments this new venture shows just how ahead of the game he truly is. He has recently signed a contract allowing him to buy the first 10 airframes, giving him the best seat in the house when it comes waving in the new generation of air travel.

Blake Scholl, CEO and founder of tech start-up Boom said: ‘Ultimately, I want people to be able to get anywhere in the world in five hours for $100’.

And with future plans including flights to San Francisco, Tokyo and Sydney, such a reality may not be so far off…