Hello giorgio1
Thank-you for your question, which I enjoyed researching.
Transatlantic passenger flights around 1950 took about 17 hours,
though there are descriptions of flights as fast as 14 hours.
Here's a reference to a 1950s flight which took 17 hours:
"London to New York by Stratocruiser....
In the 1950s, BOAC operated the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser on prime
North Atlantic routes to US destinations, such as Boston, Philadelphia
and New York.
BA9901
Departure Airport: London Airport (Heathrow) EGLL
Via: Goose Bay, Canada CYYR
Arrival Airport: New York Idlewind KJFK
Approx. Flight Time: 17 hours
Historical Flights
http://www.boacvirtual.co.uk/crew/schedules/historical/lonnystrat.htm
One flight in 1945 is said to have taken only 14 hours:
"American Export became the world's first airline to offer regularly
scheduled landplane (as opposed to seaplane) commercial flights across
the North Atlantic. Using the reliable DC-4 aircraft, it began
passenger services from New York to Hurn Airport near Bournemouth in
England (with stops at Gander, Newfoundland, and Shannon, Ireland) in
October 1945. Each one-way flight lasted about 14 hours."
The Beginnings of Commercial Transatlantic Services
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/atlantic_route/Tran4.htm
Some of the variation in times depends on whether you count in the
stopovers. Here are two descriptions of the same route in 1946, which
apparently involved less than fifteen hours actually in the air:
"On February 6 1946, a TWA Constellation that had originated in New
York, with intermediate stops in Gander (New Foundland), and Shannon
(Ireland), landed in Paris, after a flight of less than 20 hours. It
was the first commercial Atlantic flight. "
Lockheed Constellation
http://aerostories.free.fr/connie/page9.html
"In the same month, both TWA and Pan Am began transatlantic service:
Washington to Paris in under fifteen hours. "
The Connie
http://www.philpatton.com/constell.html
The introduction of jet travel is always described as cutting journey
time in half.
"United States air passenger service entered the jet age on October
26, 1958, as the "Clipper America," a Boeing 707 flew from New York to
Paris with 111 passengers. Overnight, flying times were reduced by
one-half, and the world became a much smaller place."
Pan American World Airways, Inc., Records
http://www.library.miami.edu/archives/panam/pan.html
"Jet Age Arrives
On October 4, 1958, the British Overseas Airways Corporation
inaugurated the first transatlantic passenger-jet service, flying one
de Havilland Comet IV from London to New York and another in the
opposite direction. BOAC beat PanAmerican Airways to the draw by three
weeks. The Comet IV reached London in six hours and twelve minutes,
half the time it took propeller - driven craft."
1958 news
http://www.reunionswel.com/miket2/NostalgiaPages/1950sNostalgia/58news.htm
The first westbound Comet flight took only 8 hours 53 mins. to get
from London to New York, but a stopover for refuelling pushed the time
up to over 10 hours. The refuelling was necessary for the journey in
that direction because of the prevailing winds. The eastbound flights
could manage the whole distance without stopping and so achieved a
faster time: less than seven hours.
"Inaugural flight
In the event, October 4th 1958 was the first practical date the
Corporation could operate services after the Port of New York
Authority gave permission for the aircraft to operate from its
airport.
G-APDC 'Delta Charlie' set off from London to New York via Gander
under the Command of Capt. R. E. Millichap and G-APDB, Commanded by
Capt. T. B. Stoney, made the east-bound flight.
Because of the prevailing winds the west-bound flight needed to refuel
at Gander (something the 707 would not have to do with its superior
range). The inaugural flight was completed in 8 hours 53 minutes
flying time (including stop-over 10 hrs. 5 min.) at an average ground
speed of 404 m.p.h."
"It was also revealed that on the eastbound New York - London route
Mk.4 services had been averaging 6hrs 45 min. with a non-stop
crossing!
However shortly after this the Boeing 707 set a new eastbound record
cutting the time to less than six hours."
BOAC and the Comet 4
http://www.dlyoung.freeserve.co.uk/DH106/comet_4boac4.htm#3
I hope this provides you with all the information you need. If
anything needs further explanation, please get back to me with a
request for clarification, and I'll do my best to help.
Leli
search terms used:
transatlantic, New York, London, westbound
commercial, passenger, flight
Pan American, BOAC, Comet
1950, 1950s, 1958, 1945, 1946, 1947 |
