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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2009
Supersonic Business Jets
by
Dennis A. Yao and Julia Rozovsky
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Abstract
In the fall of 2002, Brian Barents, ex-CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, faced an important decision: whether or not to enter the supersonic business jet (SSBJ) industry. Supersonic flight-flight faster than the speed of sound-had long tantalized leaders of commercial aerospace firms. With advances in aviation centered on speed, aerospace manufacturers were long after a supplement to the Anglo-French Concorde, the only civilian supersonic option at the time. Although technologically feasible for generations, previous companies had failed to come up with a plan to bring an SSBJ to market in a way that was both economically feasible and within regulation. Was the business and technical environment in 2002 more conducive to starting a SSBJ venture? If so, what kind of design strategy-low-boom or conventional--was best?
Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Governance Compliance;
Market Entry and Exit;
Business Strategy;
Cooperation;
Aerospace Industry;
Citation:
Yao, Dennis A., and Julia Rozovsky. "Supersonic Business Jets." Harvard Business School Case 709-425, January 2009.