--- title: "This Futuristic Aircraft Could Take You From New York to Boston in 36 Minutes" description: "Transcend Air says its prototype aircraft could whisk a half-dozen passengers at a time between Boston and New York in less than 40 minutes." date: "2018-10-03" modified: "2018-10-03" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/transcend-air-futuristic-aircraft" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "greg bruell" - "private jet" - "the digest" - "transcend air" --- # This Futuristic Aircraft Could Take You From New York to Boston in 36 Minutes ![Transcend Air says its prototype aircraft could whisk a half-dozen passengers at a time between Boston and New York in less than 40 minutes.]() *\Image: Transcend Air\* ## HeliJet The craft takes off vertically from any flat surface, like a helicopter, then cruises to your destination like a jet at 724 kilometers per hour (450 miles per hour), far above the traffic below. That's the idea behind a prototype aircraft created by Boston startup Transcend Air. The company says the craft could transport a half-dozen passengers at a time between Boston and New York in fewer than 40 minutes. "We like to boast that we’re not inventing anything new here," said CEO Greg Bruell in [an interview]() with *Travel + Leisure*. “We’re taking a concept first demonstrated in the '60s and finding a market for it, while updating it with the latest technology so that it doesn’t cost military-scale budgets to build them." ## Elite Travel As *Quartz* [pointed out](), a Boston-New York flight from a conventional airport could easily take three hours between clearing security, boarding, and driving to the airport**.** But passengers will have to pay for Transcend Air's elite service. A one-way trip from New York to Boston will run $283 — easily double the cost of a conventional flight. ## Hold It There are a few more caveats. The service won’t launch until 2024 at the earliest. And to save on space, the next-gen aircraft won’t have bathrooms, so no grande mochas before take-off. Ultimately, Transcend Air's prototype is a glimpse of a stylish future for air transportation — even if, like private jets, it'll inevitably cater to the wealthy. **READ MORE:** [Flying Taxi Company Wants to Get You From New York City to Boston in 36 Minutes]() \[*Travel + Leisure*\] ***More on flying taxis: [The World’s First Flying Taxis Will Take to the Skies in Five Months]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()