Norwegian claims to have set a new record time for the fastest transatlantic flight by a subsonic passenger aircraft this week.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from New York JFK to Gatwick on Monday completed the flight in p.
Strong tailwinds over the Atlantic reached a maximum of 202 mph, pushing the aircraft to a top speed of 776mph during the flight.
This was the fastest transatlantic flight recorded on a subsonic commercial aircraft, according to the airline.
The Dreamliner carrying 284 passengers departed New York at 11:44am local time and arrived at Gatwick at 9:57pm – 53 minutes early.
Captain Harold van Dam, of Norwegian, said: “We were actually in the air for just over five hours and if it had not been for forecasted turbulence at lower altitude, we could have flown even faster.”
The day before the record-breaking flight, Gatwick-based Captain Pascal Niewold recorded his fastest ever transatlantic flight of five hours and 20 minutes while at the controls of a Dreamliner from New York to London.
The flight had a maximum tailwind of 224mph and reached a top speed of 779 mph.
Niewold said: “The passengers and crew were very pleasantly surprised that we were already landing in London. It was a very smooth flight with almost no turbulence and as a result of the jet stream we arrived 25 minutes early.”