Actually, Airliners Don't Fly Near-Supersonic Speeds

Recently, we've seen some discussion of widebody airliners flying at near-supersonic speeds by riding a tail wind courtesy of the jet stream - the vast river of air that flows west to east at roughly 25-30,000 feet.

Flyers have been wowed quick 5-hour and 15 minutes long flights from New York to London and impressive 700 mph-plus speed readings.

On a Boeing 777!

Not since the Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde - capable of cruising at twice the speed of sound - has any commercial airliner be able to sustain supersonic performance. 

But can the average commercial airliner reach supersonic or even near-supersonic speeds? 

According to retired Boeing 777 and Airbus captain and current airline flight instructor Lim Khoy Hing, the answer is no.  

In a blog post from 2011, one curious flyer asked whether supersonic speeds had been reached on a flight to London onboard a 777.

The flyer asked if the aircraft's 760-mph ground speed meant that the plane surpassed Mach 1 - 761 mph at sea level. 

Captain Lim explained:

So there you go. Even if your flight is fortunate enough to have a helpful push from the jet stream, it's not about to go near supersonic speeds in level flight.

Which means you'll have to join the Chuck Yeager club some other time - and on some other plane!