[yborg]

This will free manufacturers to build supersonic private jets for the superwealthy to cruise over flyover America. With normal steerage air travel becoming increasingly unaffordable for the average person, I can't see airlines buying supersonic airliners given fuel costs, they couldn't fill them for what they would have to charge.

[inglor_cz]

How big is the market of supersonic private jets for the superwealthy?

Can someone like Boeing or Airbus live off that indefinitely, instead of ye olde passenger jet production?

"With normal steerage air travel becoming increasingly unaffordable for the average person"

I am 47 and during my lifetime, air travel has moved from the "quite a luxury, plenty of people never experience this" to "you may pay more for the taxi to the airport, a poke bowl at the airport and the taxi in your destination than for the ticket as such" category. Capacity of airports has become a significant bottleneck, because everyone flies.

That's Europe, though, we have a lot of budget airlines there such as Ryanair.

[ghaff]

I'm not sure what a ticket for me from Boston to NYC would be these days as I essentially always take the train. But airline tickets in the US have been hundreds of dollars in my experience as is my transportation to and from the airport. To say nothing of hotels in major cities being hundreds of dollars per day--and that's not anything especially fancy. But, yes, air travel is cheaper in current dollars than it used to be.

[futevolei]

Please cite evidence confirming your assertion that air travel is becoming increasingly unaffordable for the average person.