1996: A Record-Breaking Flight Across the Atlantic

February 7, 1996

British Airways (BA) supersonic airliner Concorde G-BOAD took only two hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds to fly between the United States and England. “British Concorde Sets Atlantic Speed Mark,” announced a headline in the Tampa Bay Times a couple of days later. This trip continues to hold the record as the fastest crossing of a passenger airliner across the Atlantic.

The BA pilot for this transatlantic flight was Captain Leslie Scott. The members of his crew included senior engineering officer Rick Eades and senior first officer Tim Orchard. With a total of 27 passengers on board, the Concorde G-BOAD departed from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. This aircraft subsequently made its way to Heathrow Airport in London at an average speed of 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) per hour, with considerable accelerative help provided by tail winds of up to 174 miles (280 kilometers) per hour.

The airliner used for this record-breaking flight is now on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. This aircraft can specifically be found there at Pier 86 at 46^th Street on the west side of Manhattan. The above photo of the airliner at that location was taken in 2016.

Photo Credit: Paul Hermans (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Additional information on the 1996 transatlantic speed record set by British Airways Concorde G-BOAD is available at https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/60at60/2015/8/1996-fastest-flight-across-the-atlantic-in-a-commercial-aircraft-392882