Intense jet stream boost to aircraft speed

Storms fuelled by an increasingly strong North Atlantic jet stream,
believed to be linked to climate change, have elevated some recent
transatlantic commercial flights to near-record-breaking speeds

Jet stream: Flows west to east and is
often more powerful in winter,
leading to more storms

LAS VEGAS
NEW YORK
LISBON
LONDON
DOHA

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Speed of sound*:
1,192km/h (740mph)

FASTEST SUBSONIC TRANSATLANTIC COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS

1 Jan 22, 2025
BRITISH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A350
LAS VEGAS–LONDON
1,310km/h
814mph

2 Jan 22, 2025
QATAR AIRWAYS BOEING 777
NEW YORK–DOHA
1,341km/h
833mph

3 Feb 17, 2024
UNITED AIRLINES BOEING 787
NEW YORK–LISBON
1,344km/h
835mph

4 Feb 9, 2020
BRITISH AIRWAYS BOEING 747
NEW YORK–LONDON
1,328km/h
825mph

5 Jan 15, 2018
NORWEGIAN AIR BOEING 787
NEW YORK–LONDON
1,249km/h
776mph

6 Jan 8, 2015
BRITISH AIRWAYS BOEING 777
NEW YORK–LONDON
1,199km/h
745mph

FASTEST EVER TRANSATLANTIC COMMERCIAL FLIGHT

7 Feb 7, 1996
BRITISH AIRWAYS CONCORDE
NEW YORK–LONDON
2,012km/h
1,250mph

Record
almost
broken

Current
record
holder

Risen
145km/h
(90mph)
in nine
years

HOW SUBSONIC PASSENGER AIRCRAFT CAN
TRAVEL FASTER THAN SPEED OF SOUND

Since supersonic Concorde retired in 2003, no commercial passenger jet
can fly faster than speed of sound, except when this happens:

Altitude: 9,100m (30,000ft)

Slower moving air outside jet stream

Jet stream: On occasions
can move at hundreds of
kilometres (miles) per hour

Aircraft cruising speed: 960km/h
(600mph) relative to air around it –
which is itself moving very quickly

Note: Image (from earth.nullschool.net) depicts jet stream as of 1400GMT, Jan 27, 2025. *Sea level
Sources: Times, Dallas Morning News, BBC, Bloomberg, Independent, Nature
© GRAPHIC NEWS