This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Late last week, the FAA announced a new process for aviation startups to get permission to test new supersonic aircraft. Despite the appeal of faster-than-sound travel, testing new planes is logistically challenging, partly because planes flying at those speeds create an aggravating sonic boom. A leading supersonic aviation startup, Boom Technologies, proposed a number of changes to the FAA's process, looking to simplify the process. But the federal agency shot each and every proposal down. Supersonic commercial air travel has been a nostalgic memory since the Concorde was laid to rest in 2003, the victim of economics that no longer worked and a post-9/11 market that would transform the aviation landscape for decades to come.