Voice of London

Can you imagine having breakfast in Manhattan and lunch by the London Eye on the same day? No? Well, in 1996 a flight from New York to London made that possible.

Concorde made a record-breaking flight from JFK to Heathrow Airport in 2 hours and 53 minutes, according to British Airways.

The possibilities of this flight coming back and made commercial has been speculated over the past couple of years. If they made it work 22 years ago, they can make it work now. Many airlines have been testing the aircrafts to achieve the lowest time, but none have succeeded to surpass British Airway’s record.

This year the Norwegian low-cost airline departed their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner did the same route and achieved 5 hours and 13 minutes this year in a statement released by the airline. Even though it does not beat the record, they did it with 284 passengers on board. The reason for the closure of the Concorde flights in 2003 was very simple – high cost, low demand! The Norwegian airline is a strong competitor due its low cost and still being less hours than usual flights; which would be on average an 8-hour flight.

Denver-based Boom Technology gained investments from Japan Airlines and Virgin Group of ten million US Dollars to “refine their aircraft” as said in their website. Boom, however, has made the same mistake Concorde made all the way back in the 90s and early 00s; their tickets are way too expensive. Instead of investing one low-cost fast aircraft like competitors, they have created a 3-hour 15-minute flight costing only 2,500 dollars for a one-way ticket; or more, depending on the destination. Their craft has 55 seats, all individual. Paying that much for a ticket no one would expect any less!

Boom has currently invested in 20 aircrafts and are still in testing – but are expected to launch their program very soon. With high expectations being risen by such companies, many have speculated a comeback for the Concorde program and their supersonic jets.

The first flight from New York to London by Concorde happened on November 22, 1977, exactly 41 years ago. A comeback from retirement is not only expected, but also needed as they have set history once and continue on with the dream. As the dream becomes reality airlines will continue to invest in the future of flight technology, the only thing to wonder now is who will be the leading airline to do so?

Words: Mariana Husek Maestro | Subbed: Megan Naylor