Produced by British Airways Film Unit, the 1976 TRANSATLANTIC SUPERSONIC is a promotional film for British Airways’ commercial transatlantic flights on the supersonic Concorde jet. The film follows several men and one woman as they depart various locations (Germany, Bahrain, Scotland, and Paris) to travel to the U.S. via Heathrow Airport. The use of British Airways’ supersonic Concorde jet allows these passengers to cross the Atlantic in just over 3.5 hours. The Concorde lands (02:25) in London at Heathrow International Airport, where it waits for passengers to board it before flying to the U.S. The passengers board the Concorde, Flight 579, and enjoy the “club-like” cabin as the jet (08:50) and the flight deck crew (09:21) prepare to depart. The Concorde takes off (09:50) from Heathrow and flies through the sky (10:37) while passengers enjoy the high-end cabin services (10:56). Twenty minutes out of London, the Concorde prepares to reach supersonic speed (12:30); the smooth transition is hardly noticed by the passengers as they Concorde climbs up to its cruising altitude of 57,000 feet (13:18). The jet reaches speeds twice the speed of sound (14:33), before decelerating as it prepares to land at Dulles International Airport (15:53). The Concorde lands (16:31) in just over 3.5 hours, having covered 3,780 miles. Mobile lounges greet the jet (17:05) and take the passengers to the terminal. The film concludes by briefly following the featured passengers on their way to their respective destinations while touting the possibilities created by halving the time it takes to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde is a British-French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet airliner that was operated until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which was operated for a much shorter period.
Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde. The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concorde’s speed and luxury service.
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