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Common Ground News

What was it like flying Concorde?

Author

Carter Sullivan

Updated on February 21, 2026

What was it like flying Concorde?

Cozy quarters. Faster than a speeding bullet: Fifteen years after it last flew, Concorde remains unsurpassed in terms of speed in the world of commercial flight. "Concorde was extremely small, only about 100 seats. It had more like office chairs, bucket seats, and very small windows.

Beside this, who flew on the Concorde?

Mike Bannister may well be the most famous Concorde pilot. He flew VC-10 long-haul jets with BOAC before becoming a British Airways Concorde first officer, then captain and instructor.

One may also ask, how much was a ticket on the Concorde? RE: Concorde Ticket Price160,000 per ticket round trip.

Secondly, can you still fly on a Concorde?

On April 10, 2003 Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde aircraft. Air France made its final flight on June 27 while British Airways retired its fleet on October 24 after a farewell tour.

How many miles high did Concorde fly?

11 miles high

What caused the Concorde to crash?

The court ruled that the crash was caused by a piece of metal left on the runway after falling from a Continental jet. Investigators said this caused a tyre-burst in the Concorde, which in turn ruptured a fuel tank.

How many times did Concorde fly?

It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years.

Who really flew first?

the Wright Brothers

Will supersonic flight come back?

Supersonic aircraft are not coming back. A few weeks ago, on March 2nd, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Concorde first taking flight. The whole world was excited about the arrival of commercial supersonic transport. The newest jet promised to reduce flying times between various destinations more than double.

Will Concorde ever return?

The last commercial supersonic flight was on 24 October, 2003, when British Airways withdrew Concorde, ending the world's only supersonic passenger service. The legislation states that by the end of 2019, rules governing a new application process should be in place for companies looking to develop supersonic aircraft.

Will Concorde be replaced?

Developed in the 60s and launched in 1976, Concorde remains the only successful supersonic passenger plane to have existed. Fifteen years on and nothing has popped up to replace Concorde. In this respect, air travel is perhaps the only industry to have gone backwards, not forwards, in terms of its technology over time.

How many Concordes are there left?

The final Concorde to be built, 216 left Filton in April 1979, and made the iconic jet's final ever flight on Wednesday 26 November 2003, returning to the airport where it had all began to be formally met by Prince Andrew.

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

The round trip total cost in 1972, therefore, was about $ 31,920 between London and New York. The supersonic airliner, with four afterburner turbojets, would burn 19,519 US gallons of fuel, costing airline just $ 2,713 in 1972 from London to New York.

Can you buy a Concorde jet?

Enough funds have been raised to buy a Concorde with the aim of getting it flying again by 2019, a group of British enthusiasts says. Concorde, which can travel at twice the speed of sound, last flew in 2003. Negotiations are now under way to try to purchase or lease the two aircraft.

Why did they stop using Concorde?

Passenger numbers have never recovered since the crash near Paris in 2000 and the aircraft no longer makes a profit. In a statement, BA said Concorde would cease flying in the autumn because of "commercial reasons, with passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of rising maintenance costs for the aircraft".

Did Concorde make a profit?

The Concorde brought a $17.3-million profit to British Airways last year and a profit of $8.8 million to Air France in 1984, the most recent year for which figures were available. British Airways didn't record profits from the Corcorde until 1982, and Air France until 1983.

What is the fastest commercial jet?

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird long-range reconnaissance aircraft, used by the United States Air Force between 1964 and 1998, is the jet with the fastest speed record at 3.3 Mach (2,200 mph).

Which is fastest passenger plane in the world?

Today for our readers we present to you a list of the fastest passenger planes in the world.
  • Bombardier Global 6000: – 682 mph.
  • Dassault Falcon: 7X – 690 mph.
  • Airbus A380: 676 mph.
  • Cessna Citation X: 700 mph.
  • Cessna Citation X+: 717 mph.
  • Concorde: 1,354 mph.
  • Boom Supersonic: 1,451 mph.
  • Tupolev TU 144: 1,510 mph.

What happened to the Concorde airplane?

The supersonic Concorde halved transatlantic flight time during its operations from 1969 until 2003, when the commercial jet was retired, in large part because of a crash in 2000 that killed 113. The passengers were traveling on a flight to New York's John F Kennedy Airport to board a cruise.

Where are all the Concorde planes now?

Concorde was retired from service in 2003 and no longer flies. Most remaining Concorde aircraft are now on public display. There now follows a table of the various locations where all existing models of Concorde can be found. Most of these locations are in France, the UK and the USA.

Was Concorde faster than a bullet?

Faster than a speeding bullet: Fifteen years after it last flew, Concorde remains unsurpassed in terms of speed in the world of commercial flight. "Concorde was extremely small, only about 100 seats.

How fast does the Concorde go?

2,179 km/h

How fast does a 737 fly mph?

At 26000' in a standard atmosphere, 340kCAS = 490 knots True Air Speed, which is the absolute maximum permitted speed of a Boeing 737. 490 kTAS = 564mph or 907km/hr (using a generic Speed Unit Converter.) But you asked about the cruise speed.

How fast is a 747?

The 747-400, the most common variant in service, has a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85–0.855 (up to 570 mph or 920 km/h) with an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 statute miles or 13,450 km).

How fast can a fighter jet fly across the Atlantic?

Reaching a speed of Mach 5 would allow the aircraft to complete a trip across the Atlantic in around 120 minutes, while a flight crossing the Pacific would take roughly three hours.