Everybody, whether in the fastest corporate jet or a commercial jet, has been limited to the maximum subsonic cruise speed of around 660 mph, or a good deal less than that for most of us. But it's not part of human nature to accept a barrier once broken. And the daily Concorde flights between New York and London, cruising at 1,300 mph, created an elite passenger group who loved what they called “the rocket”—crossing the pond in just three and a half hours.