Will we ever fly supersonically over land?
Sound is one thing, but there are other more significant obstacles.<p>The benefits of faster travel really show on longer distances (London to Sydney for example). But over land, there just aren’t many common routes where the several hour savings would be worth it.<p>The big challenges relate to risk. What happens to the vehicle when a major failure happens at high speed?  What about sudden pressure loss at high altitude? Or mechanical failure or weather which causes a diversion (how much ground do you cover just turning around?).<p>I find it hard to see legitimate overall benefits.<p>Frankly, I think we could make greater overall time benefits by optimizing airport and boarding improvements.