How High Did Concorde Fly? (2024)

From its introduction to commercial aviation in 1976 to its last commercial flight on 24 October 2003, Concorde primarily flew through the skies of the North Atlantic.

With a sustained supercruise speed of Mach 2.04, the aircraft could whip passengers across the Atlantic in record time. Futuristically, one could even arrive in New York before they left London, on account of the five-hour time difference.

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Photo:Just Jus | Shutterstock

But while most choose to focus on Concorde's speed, many forget to examine the other flight characteristics of the legendary supersonic aircraft. In this article, we analyze the question of just how high the aircraft flew.

Concorde's Altitude

When operating at maximum performance, Concorde could fly at nearly 60,000 feet, flying far above both conventional jets of the time and those in the sky today.

For example, a Boeing 747-400, which operated the majority of subsonic long-haul flights during Concorde's heyday, could only reach altitudes near 40,000 feet during normal flight operations. Even a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, one of the most robust jets in the world's modern long-haul fleets, has a service ceiling of just over 43,000 feet.

Furthermore, Concorde could ascend to its immense cruising altitude with relative efficiency, as the jet could climb at over 4,500 feet per minute.

Photo:Phil Emmerson/Shutterstock

This climb rate also outmatches subsonic aircraft, with the 787-9 Dreamliner and the Boeing 747-400 both lagging behind the Concorde with maximum climb rates that barely reach 4,000 feet per minute.

One interesting thing to note, however, is that Boom Supersonic has announced that the Overture, a new supersonic airliner that has received orders from United and American Airlines, will cruise at 60,000 feet, similar to Concorde.

To Concorde passengers, however, the high altitude did help improve the flight experience as little turbulence occurs at such cold and stable levels of the atmosphere. (Passengers did, however, note that Concorde was prone to turbulence when flying at subsonic speeds during landing or takeoff.)

Why fly so high?

One interesting question that many may still have is why Concorde flew nearly 20,000 feet higher than its nearest conventional counterpart. The answer primarily has to do with physics, as well as many of the key aspects of Concorde's performance. The higher the plane flew, the thinner the air was, preventing drag from slowing the plane down.

Decreasing drag drastically lowered Concorde fuel costs, a critical component of ensuring profitability for a gas-guzzling supersonic jet.

Photo: British Airways

Flying at this altitude not only helped save on fuel but also helped the jet save significant amounts of time, as at 60,000 feet, there were almost no jets that air traffic control would route Concordes around. The only aircraft flying beside the supersonic transport were either military aircraft or other Concordes.

There were some drawbacks, however, to flying at such high altitudes. Concorde took longer to reach its cruising altitude than its subsonic counterparts and experienced an increased pressure differential at higher altitudes.