Aviation history: The world record for a trans-Atlantic airplane flight was set in 1978 when a Concorde airplane flew from Paris to New York in what time? give answer to the nearest half-hour - such as 8 1/2 hours, 9 hours, etc.

This remarkably short flight time was a feat of engineering made possible by the aircraft's ability to travel at supersonic speeds. The Concorde cruised at Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, at an altitude of nearly 60,000 feet. This was more than double the velocity of conventional subsonic airliners, which typically fly around 570 miles per hour. By shattering the sound barrier, the Concorde drastically reduced a journey that took other passenger jets a full seven to eight hours.

For the passengers who could afford its premium tickets, this meant they could effectively "chase the sun" across the Atlantic. A traveler could enjoy a late lunch in Paris and