Fly from New York to LA in just 2.5 hours as incredible new supersonic business jet aims to cut journey time in half

It's been more than ten years since Concorde made its final transatlantic flight, the Daily Mail reports.

But there's a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft beginning to emerge, boasting speeds at least twice as fast as current commercial planes.

While these planes will first appear in the private and business jet market, catering only to the super rich with gargantuan price tags and first class service, supersonic may eventually reach regular holidaymakers.

One such jet, the N+2, designed by US global aerospace Lockheed Martin, is intended for commercial airlines, and aims to cut the travel time from New York to Los Angeles by half - from five hours to just 2.5.

The aircraft would accommodate 80 passengers and have a tri-jet configuration in which one engine is on top of the aircraft and the other two are under each wing to reduce sonic boom.

'To achieve revolutionary reductions in supersonic transportation airport noise, a totally new kind of propulsion system is being developed,' said Michael Buonanno, Lockheed Martin manager of the NASA N+2 program.

'We are also exploring new techniques for low noise jet exhaust, integrated fan noise suppression, airframe noise suppression and computer customized airport noise abatement.'

Meanwhile, in Reno, Airbus is teaming up with US-based Aerospace firm Aerion to create a supersonic jet that can fly from London to New York in three hours and from Los Angeles to Tokyo in six.

The Aerion AS2 business jet will fly at 1,217mph, using proprietary supersonic laminar flow technology - almost as fast as Concorde, which flew at 1,350mph.

Engineers from Airbus' Defence and Space Division will work with Aerion at its base in Nevada.

The cost of the AS2 is thought to be more than $100million - over £60million - and Aerion hopes test flights will begin by 2019.

The jet, which will fly between major global cities, will be made mostly from carbon fibre composite material.

Design features include wings which reduce overall drag by 20 per cent, allowing for lower fuel consumption and longer range and a luxurious 30-foot-long cabin will seat up to 12 passengers.

Aerion chairman Robert M Bass, said in a statement: 'This is a major step forward for Aerion. It puts us solidly on track toward our objective of certifying the world's first supersonic business jet in 2021.'

After 27 years of service, British Airways retired the Airbus' Concorde airliner - which travelled at more than twice the speed of sound - in October 2003, signaling the end of the supersonic passenger jet.

Modern commercial long-haul jets typically cruise at speeds between 480mph and 560mph

The plan is to certify the plane in 2021 with first delivery in 2022. Flight testing would begin in roughly 2019.

Aerion officials knew it would take a well-established original equipment manufacturer to complete the project, he said.

'We couldn't be more delighted with the choice of Airbus,' Barents said. 'We think that their footprint around the world is clearly going to help us as we develop the airplane.'