Virgin Atlantic flight Los Angeles-London jet streams at 801 mph

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

A Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles to London soared to 801 mph on Monday evening 35,000 feet over Pennsylvania. The Boeing 787-9 twin jet has flown at speeds up to 776 mph in the past. The ordinary cruising speed of a Dreamliner is 561 mph. But the jet stream provided tailwind to Virgin Atlantic flight and helped it to touch the speeds of 1289 kmh.

The jet stream is the high-altitude air current along which storms travel. The stream of air cloaked at more than 230 mph over Long Island on Monday. That measure comes from the 250 millibar pressure level, meaning it was at a height above 75 percent of the atmosphere’s mass. It sets the record for the fastest 250 millibar wind speed ever recorded over New York and, probably, the country.

The 250 millibar level generally tends toward 30,000 feet to 35,000 feet – the level at which the planes fly. The jet stream can have big implications on how quickly aircraft reach their destination.

An LAX-JFK Delta flight overnight reached 678 mph at 39,000 feet over the Ohio Valley, while a 737 from Chicago to New York passed 700 mph at 8:43 Eastern this morning. Chicago to New York/Boston routes will be shortened to 1 hour, 24 minutes Wednesday instead of the usual nearly two-hour flight time.

Likewise, flight times from Dallas to Boston dipped below three hours, with an Embraer ERJ-190 twin jet achieving 739 mph in the jet streak.

Virgin Atlantic didn’t remain in the ‘jet streak’ and it still arrived 48 minutes early.

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