Aerion Sells Its First Supersonic Business Jet To A UAE Sheikh

Ajman, United Arab Emirates (AHN) - The first unit of Supersonic Business Jet, which will fly at Mach 1.6, has been ordered by Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman for $80 million.

Aerion has taken the order to design the bird which can cover the distance between New York to Paris within 4 hours. The plane has a range in excess of 4,000 nautical miles.

Sheikh Rashid had written a letter of intent to the company at the Dubai air show to purchase the 12-seater jet. Sheikh Rashid is a head of the Ajman municipality and planning department.

In a statement, Aerion's Vice Chairman Brian Barents said, "Sheikh Rashid will become one of the first world leaders to routinely fly above the speed of sound."

If permitted, the aircraft can cruise at Mach 1.15 over land without causing a boom. And wherever the supersonic flight is banned to fly over the land, it will assume a speed of Mach 1.

However, it can fly at its maximum speed over water.

"This week we have seen orders for the biggest and the fastest airplanes," Sheikh Rashid told Arabian Business Journal.

"In the new global economy there is a place for both. For me, speed confers great advantages. It will simply speed up the pace of business activities, and allow me to take key business associates to more places, discussing more opportunities," Sheikh Rashid added.

Zurich, Switzerland-based ExecuJet has been managing Aerion's sales of SSBJ outside the U.S.