How long did the Concorde take from Paris to New York?

The Concorde flew at Mach 2.02, just over 2,150 km/h, twice the speed of sound, at cruising altitudes between 15,000 and 18,300 meters, well above subsonic traffic. Air France and British Airways operated the transatlantic route from 1976 to 2003, with daily departures between Paris or London and New York, covering the westbound trip in about 3 hours and 45 minutes, a route that takes a current subsonic jet close to 8 hours to complete. The return to Europe, aided by the tailwind of the polar jet stream, took about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Flying twice as fast as a subsonic airliner wasn't just a matter of the afterburning Olympus 593 engines, inherited from a military bomber, but also of flying much higher, where thinner air reduces aerodynamic drag despite the supersonic speed. That combination let a passenger have breakfast in Paris and arrive in New York before the local departure time, thanks also to the five-hour time difference.

Despite its speed, the Concorde was never profitable at scale: fuel consumption per passenger was triple that of a subsonic jet, the sonic boom barred it from flying supersonic over land, and the Air France crash in Paris in 2000 damaged its safety image. The last commercial flight took place in 2003, and since then no passenger aircraft has crossed the Atlantic in under four hours again.