Supersonic Blast Past the Concorde

Supersonic Blast Past the Concorde

In the 1997 summer edition of The Air Charter Guide, founder Fred Gevalt wrote in his foreword: “As I look out the window of the Concorde, I find it hard to believe. A touch of “reheat”, and Chuck Yeager’s milestone is gone in a blast. Scott Crossfield’s is next as the stewardess offers more champagne and caviar at nearly 60,000 feet, enroute to Europe at Mach two. Could the pilgrims have known that three hundred years later their descendants would hurtle through the air twelve miles above the Mayflower going back in the opposite direction at the speed of a musket ball? I am sure if you’d predicted it you’d have been burned at the stake.”

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Charter 101: Luxury in the Air

Charter 101: Luxury in the Air

For the typical airline traveler, “flying” and “luxury” don’t exist in the same sphere. While U.S. airline travel is now far more affordable relative to average income than it was before deregulation in 1978, anything that was once glamorous and exciting has eroded away for the economy-class traveler, who endures crowded gates, cramped seats, limited (and pricey) food options and unhappy fellow passengers. First-class travelers get more creature comforts, but still must tolerate long security lines and unexpected delays.

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