Editing Transatlantic flight (section)

==Transatlantic routes==
{{see also|Atlantic Bridge (flight route)}}
Unlike over land, transatlantic flights use standardized aircraft routes called [[North Atlantic Tracks]] (NATs). These change daily in position (although altitudes are standardized) to compensate for weather—particularly the [[jet stream]] [[tailwind]]s and [[headwind]]s, which may be substantial at cruising altitudes and have a strong influence on trip duration and fuel economy. Eastbound flights generally operate during night-time hours, while westbound flights generally operate during daytime hours, for passenger convenience. The eastbound flow, as it is called, generally makes European landfall from about 0600UT to 0900UT. The westbound flow generally operates within a 1200–1500UT time slot. Restrictions on how far a given aircraft may be from an airport also play a part in determining its route; in the past, airliners with three or more engines were not restricted, but a twin-engine airliner was required to stay within a certain distance of airports that could accommodate it (since a single engine failure in a four-engine aircraft is less crippling than a single engine failure in a twin). Modern aircraft with two engines flying transatlantic (the most common models used for transatlantic service being the [[Airbus A330]], [[Airbus A350]], [[Boeing 767]], [[Boeing 777]] and [[Boeing 787]]) have to be [[ETOPS]] certified.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ North America-Western Europe<ref>{{cite web |url= https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/747-400-fleet-profile-air-france-cathay-pacific-and-saudia-retire-passenger-747-fleets-in-2016-261285 |title= 747-400 fleet profile: Air France, Cathay Pacific and Saudia retire passenger 747 fleets in 2016 |publisher= CAPA – Centre for Aviation |date= 18 January 2016 |access-date= 27 February 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304165504/https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/747-400-fleet-profile-air-france-cathay-pacific-and-saudia-retire-passenger-747-fleets-in-2016-261285 |archive-date= 4 March 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref>
|-
! type !! 1H2006 !! 1H2016
|-
| A310/DC10/MD11 || 3% || 1%
|-
| A320/B737 || 1% || 1%
|-
| A330 || 16% || 26%
|-
| A340 || 10% || 6%
|-
| A380 || – || 3%
|-
| B747 || 15% || 9%
|-
| B757 || 6% || 9%
|-
| B767 || 28% || 19%
|-
| B777 || 21% || 20%
|-
| B787 || – || 6%
|}

[[File:Orthodromic air route.tif|thumbnail|180px|right|The shortest ways always are [[Great circle|orthodromes]] (Los Angeles–London)]]
Gaps in air traffic control and radar coverage over large stretches of the Earth's oceans, as well as an absence of most types of radio navigation aids, impose a requirement for a high level of autonomy in navigation upon transatlantic flights. Aircraft must include reliable systems that can determine the aircraft's course and position with great accuracy over long distances. In addition to the traditional [[compass]], [[Inertial navigation system|inertial]]s and satellite navigation systems such as [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] all have their place in transatlantic navigation. Land-based systems such as [[VHF omnidirectional range|VOR]] and [[Distance measuring equipment|DME]], because they operate "line of sight", are mostly useless for ocean crossings, except in initial and final legs within about {{convert|240|nmi|km}} of those facilities. In the late 1950s and early 1960s an important facility for low-flying aircraft was the Radio Range. Inertial navigation systems became prominent in the 1970s.

===Busiest transatlantic routes===
The twenty busiest commercial routes between North America and Europe (traffic traveling in both directions) during June until August 2022 were:<ref>{{Cite web |title=on the fly: What are the busiest North Atlantic routes this summer? |url=https://www.cirium.com/thoughtcloud/on-the-fly-what-are-the-busiest-north-atlantic-routes-this-summer/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Cirium |language=en-US}}</ref>

{|class="toccolours sortable" style="margin:1em auto; padding:0.5em;"
|- style="background:#b2beb5;"
! style="background:#B2BEB5; color:black" | {{center|Rank}}
! style="background:#B2BEB5; color:black" | {{center|North American<br />Airport}}
! style="background:#B2BEB5; color:black" | {{center|European<br />Airport}}
! style="background:#B2BEB5; color:black" | {{center|Scheduled Flight<br />June-Aug 2022}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 1
| [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]], New York City, United States
| [[Heathrow Airport]], London, United Kingdom 
| 1648
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 2
| [[Newark Liberty International Airport]], New York City, United States 
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom 
| 863
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 3
| [[Los Angeles International Airport]], Los Angeles, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 828
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 4
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]], Paris, France
| 825
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 5
| [[O'Hare International Airport]] Chicago, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 801
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 6
| [[San Francisco International Airport]], San Francisco, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 617
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 7
| [[Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport]], Montreal, Canada
| Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
| 614
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 8
| [[Logan International Airport]], Boston, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 598
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 9
| [[Washington Dulles International Airport]], Washington, D.C., United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 488
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 10
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| [[Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport]], Rome, Italy
| 460
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 11
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| [[Milan Malpensa Airport]], Milan, Italy
| 460
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 12
| [[Dallas Fort Worth International Airport]], Dallas-Fort Worth, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 447
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 13
| [[Mexico City International Airport]], Mexico City, Mexico
| [[Madrid–Barajas Airport|Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport]], Madrid, Spain
| 445
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 14
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]], Amsterdam, Netherlands
| 439
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 15
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| [[Frankfurt Airport]], Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| 433
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 16
| John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States
| Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain
| 430
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 17
| Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, United States
| Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
| 416
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 18
| [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]], Malton, Canada
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 408
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 19
| [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], Atlanta, United States
| Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
| 369
|- style="background:#eee;"
| align=center | 20
| [[Miami International Airport]], Miami, United States
| Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
| 369
|}

===London to New York===
[[File:British_Airways_aircraft_at_JFK.jpg | thumb | right | alt=British Airways aircraft at JFK | British Airways aircraft at JFK]]
The '''London to New York Air Route''' is an [[air route]] between [[London]], UK, and [[New York City|New York]], US. These two cities are connected by a heavily utilised {{convert|2,999|nmi|mi km|adj=on}} air route which has been historically important to transatlantic aviation and is today served by several major airlines ([[British Airways]], [[Virgin Atlantic]], [[American Airlines]], [[Delta Air Lines]] and [[JetBlue|JetBlue Airways]]: [[United Airlines]] flies out of the nearby airport of [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark]], {{convert|9|miles|km|disp=sqbr}} away from downtown [[Manhattan]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gcmap.com/dist?P=lhr-jfk&DU=nm&DM=&SG=&SU=mph |title=Great Circle Mapper |access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.heathrow.com/flight-timetable |title=Flight timetable |access-date=16 February 2020|publisher=Heathrow Airport Limited|location=London}}</ref> The airports of [[London Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]] and [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|JFK]] are the main international airports for the [[London metropolitan area]] and [[New York metropolitan area]] respectively, the world's two most important [[Global city|global cities]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.kearney.com/global-cities/2019 |title=2019 Global Cities Report |access-date=16 February 2020|publisher=[[Kearney (consulting firm)|Kearney]]|location=[[Chicago]]}}</ref> The route sustains the highest number of passenger seat kilometers per annum of any route globally (10.92 billion ASK's were scheduled in 2015).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.anna.aero/2015/08/26/top-15-routes-relation-capacity-asks-frequency-revealed/ |title=Top 15 routes in relation to capacity, ASKs and frequency revealed |date=26 August 2015 |access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref> In 2018 [[British Airways]] achieved a revenue of $1.16 billion on this route alone, making their operation the highest value airline route globally.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2019/08/13/most-profitable-airline-routes/#35775d616963 |title=The $1 Billion Prize: The World's 10 Most Lucrative Airline Routes |last=Dudley|first=Dominic|magazine=[[Forbes]]|location=[[Dubai]]|access-date=16 February 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The route saw a total traffic figure in 2018 of 3,034,155 (+3.0% on 2017), the busiest of any transatlantic air route.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2018/ |title=Airport data 2018 |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority|location=London|access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/283755/europes-busiest-international-passenger-routes-revealed/ |title=Europe's busiest international passenger routes revealed |last=Casey|first=David|work=Routes|location=London|publisher=Informa|access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>

Prior to the aircraft's retirement British Airways operated a double daily supersonic [[Concorde]] service on the route which covered the {{cvt|2999|nmi|mi km}} distance in a scheduled time of 3 hours 15 minutes westbound and just under 3 hours eastbound.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://forums.flightsimlabs.com/index.php?/topic/4874-complete-list-of-concorde-scheduled-flights/ |title=Complete List Of Concorde Scheduled Flights |access-date=16 February 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929130636/https://forums.flightsimlabs.com/index.php?/topic/4874-complete-list-of-concorde-scheduled-flights/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Passenger statistics====
Below is a table of passenger numbers flying between Heathrow and JFK by year as published by the UK CAA.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2015/ |title=Airport data |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority|location=London|access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
Passenger Statistics Between JFK and LHR
!Year
!Total
Passengers
!Annual Change
!Passenger

Kilometers

(Billions)
|-
|2023
|3,073,200
|{{increase}} 29.5%
|
|-
|2022
|2,373,529
|{{increase}} 285.6%
|
|-
|2021
|615,543
|{{decrease}} 6.6%
|
|-
|2020
|659,182
|{{decrease}} 79.4%
|
|-
|2019
|3,192,195
|{{increase}} 5.2%
|17,730
|-
|2018
|3,034,155
|{{increase}} 3.0%
|16.852
|-
|2017
|2,945,744
|{{increase}} 0.4%
|16.361
|-
|2016
|2,934,554
|{{decrease}} 3.8%
|16.299
|-
|2015
|3,050,499
|{{increase}} 2.6%
|16.942
|-
|2014
|2,972,729
|{{decrease}} 1.4%
|16.511
|-
|2013
|3,015,218
|{{increase}} 6.2%
|16.747
|-
|2012
|2,839,007
|{{increase}} 6.0%
|15.768
|-
|2011
|2,678,991
|{{increase}} 6.4%
|14.879
|-
|2010
|2,517,896
|{{increase}} 1.6%
|13.984
|-
|2009
|2,478,722
|{{decrease}} 11.6%
|13.767
|-
|2008
|2,802,870
|{{decrease}} 1.3%
|15.567
|-
|2007
|2,839,221
|{{increase}} 3.2%
|15.769
|-
|2006
|2,751,835
| -
|15.284
|}

====Records====
The fastest crewed flight on this route is 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, achieved by an eastbound [[Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird|SR-71 Blackbird]] on 1 September 1974. The flight departed from [[Beale Air Force Base]], California and landed at [[Farnborough International Airshow]], crossing virtual radar gates over New York and London to spare them from sonic booms. The flight required three aerial refuels with [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135Q Stratotankers]] after takeoff, over South Carolina, and south of Greenland.<ref name="b790">{{cite web |date=1974-09-01 |title=Inside SR-71 record flight: New York-London in under 2 hours |url=https://www.key.aero/article/inside-sr-71-record-flight-new-york-london-under-2-hours |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=Key Aero}}</ref>

The fastest time for an airliner on the route is 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, this was achieved on an eastbound [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|JFK]]-[[Heathrow Airport|LHR]] Concorde service on 7 February 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/norwegian-breaks-transatlantic-speed-record/ |title=BA loses transatlantic time record to Norwegian thanks to ferocious jet stream |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London|date=18 January 2018 |access-date=16 February 2020|last1=Morris |first1=Hugh |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The current fastest subsonic passenger service on the route was achieved by British Airways on 9 February 2020 with a time of 4 hours 56 minutes. The [[Boeing 747-400]] (registration: G-CIVP) operating flight BA112 departed JFK at 18:47 [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Standard time]] (23:47 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] on 8 February) on 8 February and landed at Heathrow at 04:43 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]/UTC on 9 February. The maximum recorded groundspeed was {{convert|625|mph|kn km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/storm-ciara-flight-record-new-york-london-time-atlantic-winds-british-airways-a9325396.html |title=British Airways records fastest ever New York-London flight at more than 800mph |work=[[The Independent]] |location=[[London]]|last=Embury-Dennis|first=Tom|date=9 February 2020 |access-date=16 February 2020|url-access=limited}}</ref>