How much did it cost to fly from London to New York on Concorde?

Tickets to ride: Flying supersonic came at a price. A London-New York round trip could cost about $10,000. Work with perks: "The flight attendants loved being on it; the passengers loved being on it.



Flying on the Concorde was an elite experience with a price tag to match. In the late 1990s and until its retirement in 2003, a round-trip ticket from London to New York typically cost around £6,000 to £8,000 (approximately $10,000 to $12,000 USD at the time). When adjusted for 2026 inflation, that same round-trip ticket would be equivalent to roughly $20,000 to $25,000 today. The high cost was driven by the aircraft's extreme fuel consumption—burning about 25,000 liters of fuel per hour—and its limited capacity of only 100 passengers. Passengers were essentially paying for the "gift of time," as the supersonic jet could cross the Atlantic in under 3.5 hours, less than half the time of a standard jet. Despite the luxury dining and prestige, the high operational costs meant the Concorde was rarely profitable on its own without government subsidies.

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The Concorde's production and operation was an enormous financial undertaking for both the United Kingdom and France, contributing to sky-high ticket pricing for most consumers.

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In 1996, the Concorde set the record time for a flight between London and New York City, at a rapid two hours 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. The final flight on the high-speed plane was on November 26, 2003, but three airlines have now placed orders for a new 'Overture' model from aviation startup Boom Supersonic.

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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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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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flying on the Concorde was not a comfortable experience. this ultra fast supersonic jet. was once revered as the future of business travel, but its interior felt more like flying in a shoebox.

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

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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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The Concorde was famously loud: a take-off at Washington airport in 1977 measured 119.4 decibels. By comparison, a clap of thunder hits 120 decibels while the pain threshold for the human ear is around 110.

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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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Bathroom: The smallest room on Concorde was also a squeeze. Su Marshall, who flew on the airplane, said she was advised by a regular passenger to go before takeoff as the size made it impossible to pee once in the air.

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The Concorde was equipped with four Rolls-Royce afterburner engines, the same kind used on fighter jets, each of which generated 38,000 pounds of thrust. The bird used a slanted droop-nose that lowered upon takeoff and landing, enabling pilots to see the runway.

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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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But that hasn't stopped many aviation geeks from calling the new Boom supersonic aircraft Concorde 2.0, although the plane will officially be known under the name 'Overture'. Boom Supersonic's Overture plane is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029.

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Twenty Concorde aircraft were built, six for development and 14 for commercial service. All of these, except two of the production aircraft, are preserved. One aircraft was scrapped in 1994, and another was destroyed in the Air France Flight 4590 crash in 2000.

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So, to answer the question, yes, some fighter jets are faster than the Concorde. However, it is important to note that the Concorde was primarily designed for passenger travel, not for combat or aerial maneuvers.

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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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