Was Concorde faster than Boeing?

The aircraft quickly proved itself unquestionably as it reached speeds of up to 1,354 mph. To put that into context, that is around 800 mph faster than a Boeing 747 and over 350 mph faster than the earth spins on its axis! It was even said to be faster than a rifle bullet!



Yes, the Concorde was significantly faster than any commercial Boeing aircraft ever produced. Concorde had a maximum cruising speed of Mach 2.04 (approx. 1,354 mph or 2,179 km/h), which is more than twice the speed of sound. In comparison, a modern Boeing 787 Dreamliner or a Boeing 777 typically cruises at around Mach 0.85 (approx. 560–600 mph). This meant Concorde could fly from London to New York in under 3.5 hours, whereas a Boeing jet takes 7 to 8 hours. While Boeing did propose a supersonic "2707" model in the 1960s to compete with Concorde, it was never built due to costs and environmental concerns. In 2026, although new supersonic start-ups like Boom Supersonic are working on "Concorde-like" speeds, the retired Concorde remains the fastest passenger jet to ever hold a commercial flight certificate, outclassing Boeing's fleet in pure speed.

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Concorde used the most powerful pure jet engines flying commercially. The Aircraft's four engines took advantage of what is known as 'reheat' technology, adding fuel to the final stage of the engine, which produced the extra power required for take-off and the transition to supersonic flight.

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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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The fastest fighter jet ever created was the NASA/USAF X-15. It was an experimental aircraft that resembled more of a rocket with wings but managed to reach a record 4,520mph. The fastest fighter jet in the world today is the MiG-25 Foxbat, with a top speed of 2,190mph, half the speed of the X-15.

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Mach 10 speed has never been achieved by a manned aircraft, though, so it has never been tested. Mach 10 has, however, been achieved by a spacecraft - on November 16, 2004, NASA launched the X-43A, an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle, and was able to reach real Mach 10 while being pushed into the atmosphere.

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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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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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Thunderously noisy 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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According to Venus, the jet is being developed to fly at Mach 9, or nine times the speed of sound. That equates to about 8,000km/h (5,000mph). By comparison, the Concorde flew at about Mach 2, Overture is being built for Mach 1.7, and Hermus and Destinus are designing their hypersonic planes for Mach 5.

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Despite the crew being trained and certified, no plan existed for the simultaneous failure of two engines on the runway, as it was considered highly unlikely. Aborting the takeoff would have led to a high-speed runway excursion and collapse of the landing gear, which also would have caused the aircraft to crash.

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The toilets were at front and centre of the cabin, there was baggage space under forward cabin and aft of cabin. Passenger doors forward of cabin and amidships on port side, with service doors opposite. There was a baggage door aft of cabin on starboard side.

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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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Looping the loop I asked Jock Lowe if they ever did aerobatics when they were testing Concorde. He said they did execute barrel rolls, but never a loop-the-loop, although the aeroplane was more than capable of doing it. Doubtless it would have spilled some champagne.

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Boom Supersonic's Overture plane is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029. Capable of flying at speeds of Mach 1.7 – twice the speed of today's fastest airliners – Overture will be able to connect more than 500 destinations in nearly half the time.

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Top 10 Fastest Fighter Jets in the world
  • NASA/USAF X-15 - Mach 6.72 (4,520 mph)
  • SR-71 Blackbird - Mach 3.4 (2,500 mph+)
  • Lockheed YF-12 - Mach 3.2 (2,275 mph)
  • MiG-25 Foxbat - Mach 3.2 (2,190 mph)
  • Bell X-2 Starbuster - Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph)
  • XB-70 Valkyrie - Mach 3.02 (2,056 mph)
  • MiG-31 Foxhound - Mach 2.83 (1,864 mph)


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The final flight of the small X-43A research aircraft is targeted to sustain a speed of up to Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound (about 7,000 mph), powered by a revolutionary airframe-integrated supersonic-combustion ramjet or 'scramjet' engine.

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