Flying at Mach 2 – about 1,350mph – the Concorde could fly 100 passengers and a crew of nine from NYC to London in an average of three hours and 30 minutes. With tailwinds, it made a record flight in just two hours, 52 minutes.

On average, the Concorde took between 3 hours and 30 minutes to 4 hours to fly from London Heathrow to New York JFK. This was less than half the time of a standard subsonic jet, which typically takes about 7 to 8 hours. The Concorde flew at a cruise speed of Mach 2.04 (approx. 1,354 mph) at an altitude of 60,000 feet, allowing it to "beat the sun" across the Atlantic—passengers would arrive in New York at a local time earlier than they had departed London. The fastest-ever commercial crossing was recorded on February 7, 1996, when a British Airways Concorde completed the journey in just 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. This record still stands for a commercial passenger aircraft. Because of the sonic boom, the Concorde could only reach these speeds once it was over the open ocean, maintaining subsonic speeds while flying over the UK and the US coast.