Val. Trends #937: Supersonic flight, but can airlines or passengers afford it?

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Val. Trends #937: Supersonic flight, but can airlines or passengers afford it?

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Valuation Trends

Val. Trends #937: Supersonic flight, but

can airlines or passengers afford it?

Industry Overview

FAA proposes revised supersonic flight rules 06 July 2026

This past week, the FAA proposed repealing its 1973 ban on civil supersonic flight over Equity

U.S. land, replacing the blanket Mach 1 speed limit with a noise-based certification Americas

standard tied to Executive Order 14304, "Leading the World in Supersonic Flight." Rather Aerospace/Defense

than banning supersonic speeds outright, the rule would let aircraft fly overland, Ronald J. Epstein

potentially up to Mach 1.3, as long as ground-level overpressure from secondary sonic Research Analyst

booms stays under 0.11 psf (lbs./foot squared), using "Mach cutoff" techniques where BofAS+1 646 855 5695

atmospheric conditions bend the boom back before it hits the ground. Operators would r.epstein@bofa.com

need FAA approval of their compliance methodology and would likely need flight testing Mariana Perez Mora

Research Analyst

to prove it works. The rule doesn't yet address takeoff and landing noise, which the FAA BofAS

plans to tackle in a second rulemaking later this year, with both expected to be finalized +1 646 855 5696

mariana.perezmora@bofa.com

by mid-2027.

Alexander Preston

BofASA new dawn for supersonic flight? +1 646 855 3599

For the commercial aerospace industry, this “could” be a meaningful regulatory unlock alexander.preston@bofa.com

rather than an immediate green light. Aircraft OEM’s have long cited the overland ban

as a significant barrier to a viable supersonic passenger market beyond a few

transoceanic routes. If finalized, it could reopen a market that's been dormant since