The middle-aged man in a blue zip-up top and jeans is David Smith enjoying a family reunion in his native Scotland, but his apartment in Potsdam was filled with Russian and East German memorabilia.
Analysis
United has announced plans to buy 15 of Boom’s Overture supersonic jets - but the deal is subject to the very strenuous condition: “once Overture meets United’s demanding safety, operating and sustainability requirements”.
When Concorde retired in 2003 it looked as if that was the end of supersonic air travel, which had only ever been for a very select group of people with Platinum corporate charge cards or very deep pockets.
The air transport business slipped into a period of technological regression as aircraft speeds actually declined, a period in which the only bright spot was the improvement in noise and gaseous emissions (along with some glimmers of profitability).