A Boeing 747 managed to cross the Atlantic in 4.56 hours, compared to 6.15 hours on average. The other two flights, Airbus A350s, took 4:57 and 4:59.
A real race was played out in the air during the night from Saturday to Sunday. Storm Ciara and strong air currents allowed three commercial flights to break new speed records between New York and London.
For example, a British Airways Boeing 747 reached JFK at Heathrow in 4:56 instead of the estimated 6:13, according to Flightradar data. Without knowing it, he was closely followed by Airbus since a Virgin Atlantic A350 took 4:57 instead of 6:10 to complete the same trip. The American manufacturer has therefore gained one minute. A third flight was made in less than 5 hours. It is also an A350, chartered by Virgin Atlantic, which reached New York in London in 4:59.
The previous record was therefore broken three times. Indeed, the latest dated from January 2018. A Norwegian Boeing 787 had made a New York-London in 5.13 hours. These records – which have yet to be formalized – are without counting, of course, the transatlantic feat of Concorde. The British Airways company had, on February 7, 1996, made a New York London in just 2h52.
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