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The crossing
British Airways’ wording for a typical London to New York crossing sits here next to the same airline’s wording for a subsonic flight, and next to the fastest recorded New York to London time. Encyclopaedia Britannica’s “about three hours,” which comes from the maximum cruising speed, is kept in view on the same desk.
The crossing clock
British Airways says a typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three and a half hours, as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight.1
Concorde’s fastest transatlantic crossing, according to British Airways, was on 7 February 1996, when it completed the New York to London flight in 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds.1
Encyclopaedia Britannica says the maximum cruising speed allowed the flight time between London and New York to be reduced to about three hours. British Airways, describing a typical crossing, says “a little less than three and a half hours, as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight.” Both figures are kept in view: one is a speed claim turned into a duration, the other is the airline’s wording for a typical service.
T+ 00:00
03:30 typical (BA: a little less than 3½ hours)
T+ 00:00
08:00 typical (BA: about eight hours)
The clocks are sped up so a three-and-a-half-hour crossing takes 21 seconds on this page, and an eight-hour subsonic flight takes 48 seconds. If you prefer reduced motion, the desks jump to “arrived”. The numbers themselves are British Airways’ wording, not a simulation of weather or routing.
| Aircraft | Typical London–New York time (BA) |
|---|---|
| Concorde | A little less than three and a half hours |
| A subsonic flight | About eight hours |
| Fastest recorded (BA) | New York to London, 7 February 1996: 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds |
The Concorde had a maximum cruising speed of 2,179 km (1,354 miles) per hour, or Mach 2.04 — more than twice the speed of sound — allowing the flight time between London and New York to be reduced to about three hours.2
How the aeroplane actually made those times is on How it flew.