Storm Ciara saw aircraft flying transatlantic routes on Saturday night perform flights in record times.
Flights in the US also saw an uptick in tailwinds that brought down flight times on flights heading from west to east.A faster than normal jet stream formed as a result of Storm Ciara gave numerous aircraft flying transatlantic routes a favorable tailwind, dramatically reducing their flight times,Some aircraft even surpassed the speed of sound with speeds over 800 miles per hour, though their actual airspeed wasn't enough to break the sound barrier.
Take a look at the aircraft that were able to fly the New York to London route at speeds that haven't been seen since the Concorde. autonomous takeoff where onboard cameras were used to steer the aircraft down the runway before it took to the skies entirely on its ownAnother Virgin Atlantic flight was able to make the journey in under five hours, flight VS4 beat its colleague by two minutes and completing the journey in four hours and 57 minutes. VS4 is the airline's 6:30 p.m. service from New York to London.
British Airways, however, may have an advantage over its Virgin Atlantic competitor in the form of an additional engine on each wing. BA112, the airline's 6:30 p.m. service to London, was operated by the airline's iconic Boeing 747-400 aircraft, affectionately known as the Queen of the Skies, which has four engines.