Wind-Optimal Transatlantic Route Planning for Civil Supersonic Aircraft

Renewed interest in supersonic air travel has prompted researchers to consider where next-generation civil supersonic aircraft will operate. These aircraft are expected to fly lower and slower than Concorde, meaning that prevailing winds will have a greater impact on flight duration and fuel consumption. However, nonstandard atmospheric conditions have not always been considered in recent supersonic design studies. This paper therefore quantifies the influence of the jet stream on next-generation supersonic operations between London and New York and investigates the potential benefits of wind-optimal transatlantic routing. Four notional supersonic aircraft with performance characteristics representative of concepts found in the literature are used to assess the effect of wind at different cruise Mach numbers and altitudes. For great circle routes, the assumption of standard atmospheric conditions leads to average time and fuel burn underestimates of 4–7% and 3–6%, respectively, for westbound winter flights. If aircraft deviate from the great circle to seek favorable wind conditions, statistically significant reductions in average flight time and fuel burn are possible, but this is not the case for all cruise altitudes, Mach numbers, or flight directions. Nevertheless, wind-optimal routing is presented as one strategy to help reduce the environmental impact of future supersonic aircraft.