Private jets for well-heeled billionaires keep getting bigger and faster. Business jet maker Aerion confirmed the first orders for its $80 million supersonic business jet, tapping into what serious long range business travelers seek: speed.

According to an Aerion Corporation press release, the supersonic business jet will whisk travelers to their destinations at speeds of up to Mach 1.6, over twice the speed of a comparably-sized private jet. Aerion predicts that the jet will fly the popular New York to Paris route in just four hours and 15 minutes, shaving a solid three hours off the flight time. Continental flights unfortunately can’t put the pedal to the metal, as U.S. overland flight regulations will require the jet to fly under Mach 1.1.

Anyone with $250,000 to spare for a deposit can secure a position in line for one of the first jets from the Nevada-based manufacturer. Indeed it appears that anyone with the proper finances can buy one, as The Times’s Ben Webster reported after covering Aerion’s London press conference this week. “There was an awkward moment,” he wrote, “when the company admitted that one of the first customers had been Tarek bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama.”

Yikes! Awkward moment, indeed. The Times story confirms that the only other known customer is Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, a member of the oil rich ruling family of the Gulf state of Ajman. Of course, high profile jet buyers aren’t exactly in short supply these days. The Google jet (aka the Party Plane), a Boeing 767, was only the first in a recent series of jumbo jets bought for private use. Just last month jet manufacturer Airbus announced their first confirmed $300 million A380 buyer. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is expected to outfit his massive A380 with over $150 million worth of interior flourishes.

But clearly it is speed, not size, that will attract a significant chunk of Aerion’s supersonic jet customers. A market research report done by the company in October 2005 suggests that 20 percent of sales may come from the fractional ownership market, which includes companies like NetJets, Flexjet, and Flight Options, among others. Fractional jet companies allow consumers to own as little as 1/16th of a plane with added benefits of jet management. Perhaps this new supersonic marvel won’t be a billionaire-only ride?