How long did Concorde take to fly to New York?

This isn't a new cause to take on: when supersonic airline Concorde launched, folks were able to fly from London to New York and vice versa at a record time of two hours and 53 minutes.



The average flight time for the Concorde between London Heathrow and New York JFK was approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. This was less than half the time of a standard subsonic jet, which typically takes around 7 to 8 hours. The Concorde flew at a cruising speed of Mach 2.04 (roughly 1,354 mph), allowing it to effectively "outrun the sun" when flying westward—passengers would often land in New York at a local time earlier than their departure time from London. The fastest transatlantic crossing by a commercial aircraft was set by a British Airways Concorde (G-BOAD) on February 7, 1996, which completed the New York to London journey in just 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. In 2026, this remains an unbeaten record for a passenger aircraft, serving as a reminder of the unique era of supersonic commercial travel.

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Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.

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The Concorde's retirement was due to a number of factors. The supersonic aircraft was noisy and extremely expensive to operate, which restricted flight availability. The operating costs required fare pricing that was prohibitively high for many consumers.

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In real life, Diana took several trips aboard the Concorde, both with Prince Charles and solo.

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Concorde is sadly no longer flying, but it is still possible to visit some of the remaining 18 airframes, there are others not open to the public but you can still see them.

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Cruising at Mach 2 – or 1,350 mph – at 60,000 feet, Concorde flew five miles above and 800 mph faster than the subsonic 747s plodding across the Atlantic. The radio chatter between aircraft could get interesting, according to Tye.

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Boom Supersonic, the US plane manufacturer, plans to have the answer with its new Overture jet, which is set to transport customers at twice the speed of today's fastest commercial aircraft, and is regarded as the new Concorde.

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BA never suffered a serious accident with its seven strong fleet. Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day.

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The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded the last intelligible words in the cockpit (translated into English): Co-pilot: Le Bourget, Le Bourget, Le Bourget. Pilot: Too late (unclear). Control tower: Fire service leader, correction, the Concorde is returning to runway zero nine in the opposite direction.

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It was just one minute 17 seconds after its pilot was told the plane was on fire. According to a report by the Mirror, Captain Christian Marty's last words on July 25, 2000, were: Too late... no time. The co-pilot was then heard to say: Le Bourget, Le Bourget.

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As the aircraft tried to gain speed for an emergency landing, Mr Marty, in his last words, was heard to say: Too late... No time. Just after 2.44pm, the co-pilot exclaimed: Le Bourget, Le Bourget.

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Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.

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Of its final, celeb-studded passenger flight, CNN's Quest says: It didn't matter how famous you were, the star was the plane. Faster than a speeding bullet: 20 years after it last flew, Concorde remains unsurpassed in terms of speed in the world of commercial flight.

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Supercharged: Concorde was the first -- and still only -- passenger aircraft that had turbojet engines with afterburners. Raw fuel was introduced into the exhaust of the plane's four engines, immediately increasing the engines' thrust by almost 20%.

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