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Supersonic revival: Concorde returns by 2026 to fly from New York to London in 2 hours...The new Concorde is expected to fly at 60,000 feet.
Interesting Engineering ^ | June 27, 2025 | Mrigakshi Dixit

Posted on 06/27/2025 5:50:24 AM PDT by Red Badger

British Airways Concorde G-BOAC Eduard Marmet/Wikimedia Commons

The legendary Concorde, a supersonic airliner, is slated to make its commercial comeback by 2026.

The U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed legislation that lifted the previous ban on supersonic flight over land on June 6, 2025.

“This order begins a historic national effort to reestablish the United States as the undisputed leader in high-speed aviation,” the official White House statement stated.

Since 1973, this ban has ensured that American skies remained free of sonic booms.

The new rule change paves the way for a new age of air travel, which will be “faster, quieter, safer, and more efficient than ever before.”

With this new rule, Fly-Concorde Limited plans to return supersonic passenger flights from the U.S.

The redesigned Concorde is expected to fly with greater speed, less noise, and reduced emissions compared to the original version.

Use of sustainable fuel

The new Concorde version will keep its classic look, but it’s been redesigned with modern engineering, making it a very different aircraft from the original.

It’ll be 50% lighter, thanks to advanced composite materials.

And in a monumental leap for environmental responsibility, it will run on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), slashing emissions by a remarkable 80%.

As per the website, the new Concorde is expected to fly at 60,000 feet, a considerably greater height than standard commercial jets.

Interestingly, it could slash the London to New York flight time to just 2 hours, down from the current 6 hours and 12 minutes.

“A lot of people are already talking about supersonic flight, that it’s an enormous step forward to get there and would require billions of dollars of investment — we have to take all this one step at a time, because our airplane the CONCORDE already flew for the past 60 years and for 30 years carried more than 2 million paying customers across the skies,” said Dr Pano Kroko Churchill, founder and CEO of Fly Concorde.

“It’s an evolution that’s come full circle with the new CONCORDE,” Churchill added.

High competition

To fully grasp the significance of this return, it’s essential to understand its beginnings.

The Concorde’s development began with a visionary 1962 treaty between France and the UK, a joint effort to conquer the challenges of supersonic transport

After its first flight in 1969, the Concorde began commercial service on January 21, 1976.

British Airways and Air France launched initial routes, quickly adding transatlantic flights to Washington Dulles and New York JFK that took less than three and a half hours, a remarkable speed for its time. Flying at Mach 2.04 (2,179 km/h), it was considered an engineering marvel.

Despite initial worldwide interest, the original Concorde struggled commercially due to high operating costs, restricted routes (primarily because of its loud sonic boom), and continuous financial losses. Reportedly, only 14 aircraft ever entered service.

Then, tragedy struck. On July 25, 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris. The incident involved a tire bursting, a fuel tank puncturing, and a devastating fire erupting. All 109 on board and 4 on the ground perished.

This terrible accident, compounded by rising maintenance costs and fewer passengers, signaled the end for the Concorde.

Air France retired its planes in May 2003, and British Airways followed in October of the same year, seemingly ending commercial supersonic flights.

With its planned return by 2026, the Concorde is re-entering a competitive field.

It now joins several other companies – Boom Supersonic, Exosonic, Spike Aerospace, and Hermeus – all actively working to develop the next generation of supersonic (and even hypersonic) aircraft.


TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans; Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: concorde; sonicbooms
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To: Red Badger
Then, tragedy struck. On July 25, 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris. The incident involved a tire bursting, a fuel tank puncturing, and a devastating fire erupting. All 109 on board and 4 on the ground perished.

As I recall, they were mostly German tourists. The macabre joke at the time is that the French killed more Germans with that SST flight than in the entire battle for France in 1940.

61 posted on 06/27/2025 7:04:58 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: bgill
Only 15% of London is Muslim.
You don't need a Muslim majority to elect a Muslim mayor.
King Charles is actually the titular head of the Anglican Church.
He is not Muslim in any way.
You wanna try again?
62 posted on 06/27/2025 7:09:25 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

You can fly from NYC to London on Pakistani Airlines for 2 goats and a camel.


63 posted on 06/27/2025 7:13:49 AM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (The pandemic we suffer from is not COVID. It is Marxist Democrat Leftism. )
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To: Red Badger

Concord on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York City.

Well, it’s actually on a barge next to The Intrepid, but it would fit there if they had wanted to.

64 posted on 06/27/2025 7:16:16 AM PDT by Ditto
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To: SmokingJoe

I think you’re out of touch.

https://www.gbnews.com/news/britain-sharia-law-courts-western-capital

https://www.newsweek.com/texas-muslim-town-plans-opposition-2036184


65 posted on 06/27/2025 7:17:27 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: SmokingJoe

Islam is growing politically at supersonic speed in all major western cities.


66 posted on 06/27/2025 7:18:37 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: 9YearLurker

“I guess “climate change” really is dead now for the Leftists!”

No they are going to fly it in SAF which is sustainable aviation fuel. Built up syntheticly molecule by molecule. From syngas derived from biomass. The fuel is ideal for this aircraft it’s designer fuel from the get go. Higher in density per gallon than JetA, much better temperature stability , much lower gel point too. Those last two are critical when you are using your jet fuel as a heat sink at mach 2+ and 60,000 feet.

Price is not going to be an issue with the kinds of fares they can charge for this premium service it’s not for plebs but for the jet set class who won’t blink at the ticket prices.

SAF has been made from lignin too specifically the aromatics needed for seals and energy density. Lignin is all aromatic ring polymers to begin with. Coal is largely also all aromatics due to lignin being the main starting component to coal when it was laid down in coal swamps and peat bogs.


67 posted on 06/27/2025 7:19:37 AM PDT by GenXPolymath
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To: Red Badger

Still sounds like total BS to me.


68 posted on 06/27/2025 7:20:04 AM PDT by Ditto
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To: GenXPolymath

I’d love to see that “sustainability” of the cost of producing that.


69 posted on 06/27/2025 7:22:54 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: GenXPolymath

I’d love to see that “sustainability” of the cost of producing that.


70 posted on 06/27/2025 7:22:54 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: SmokingJoe
A Muslim mayor is not going to change the culture of NYC to an Islamic culture.

The caliphate is not about changing the culture. They are about "death to" and about the elimination of culture.

71 posted on 06/27/2025 7:23:48 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: 9YearLurker

Where are the New York City ones, which was what my post was about.
Not to mention any Sharia Court will not and cannot take precedence over state laws or the American constitution.
You wanna try again?


72 posted on 06/27/2025 7:24:19 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

I made my point, but you blockheadedly choose to deny it.


73 posted on 06/27/2025 7:25:20 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Ditto

There is another concord at the Udvar-Hazy in Virginia. I wonder if they will take the airframe back and retrofit them with modern engines, interiors and avionics. Seems to be the only way to get airfares airborne by 2026 unless someone has been secretly building more and waiting for POTUS to sign this law into effect. I bet the one’s not in the museums were kept in flight ready conditions so it could be just engines swaps and engine cert flights. Do the avionics and interiors later or one by one.


74 posted on 06/27/2025 7:26:28 AM PDT by GenXPolymath
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To: aspasia

Nothing is growing at supersonic spreads.
Population of London is still only 15% Muslim, even after what 6 years of a Muslim mayor.


75 posted on 06/27/2025 7:26:36 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: 9YearLurker
You didn't make any point.
There was nothing to ignore.
76 posted on 06/27/2025 7:27:56 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: 9YearLurker

The U.S. Navy made jet fuel from seawater in 2013 for $6 per gallon in 2013 dollars. They flew an f18 with it.

[The average cost of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the US is currently around $8.81 per gallon. This is significantly higher than the average cost of traditional JetA fuel, which is around $6.18 per gallon.]-according to RMI

A $3 increase in jet fuel cost is not a deal breaker not for $3000+ one way tickets.

The original Concorde got 15.8 passenger miles per gallon. It’s 3450 miles JFK to London. That’s 218 gallons per passenger. The cost difference at $3 would be $655 per ticket. Those dates are going to be in the $10000 range for first class and $3000 for business class. They won’t blink about using SAF they need special fuel anyways for the heat and altitude points. Plus synthetic fuels are upwards of 20% denser meaning more range out of the same sized tanks.


77 posted on 06/27/2025 7:35:39 AM PDT by GenXPolymath
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To: SmokingJoe

We are not in communication.


78 posted on 06/27/2025 7:36:00 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: GenXPolymath

As I said...


79 posted on 06/27/2025 7:39:32 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: SmokingJoe

What's the counter-narrative?

80 posted on 06/27/2025 7:43:46 AM PDT by aspasia
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