NOW THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY I’D BEEN HOPING FOR: Plans outlined for 2,000 supersonic jets to link hundreds of cities across the planet.

Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, says his company will be able to make supersonic air travel financially viable and affordable to the public, with one-way fares from London to New York from £2,000, about the same as a business class ticket today.

Boom Supersonic is one of a handful of firms attempting to revive the commercial prospects of planes that can travel faster than the speed of sound, something not seen since the demise of the Concorde in 2003.

The Denver-based operation has developed prototypes of a 55-seater jet that will have a cruising speed of 1,451mph, 100mph faster than the Concorde, and hopes to begin passenger flights by 2025.

“We are focused on accelerating long transoceanic trips. We we want to get the economy of the plane down so that anybody who flies can fly fast,” Scholl, who used to work at Amazon, told the Independent at the Farnborough Airshow.

Faster? Please!