Next time the kids ask "Are we there yet?" an hour after taking off, show them this SCMP advert from when the flight to London took 39 hours and 5 minutes. The advert's copywriter seems proud of the extra 5 minutes. I doubt that the flight time could be predicted so precisely with many stops on the way all capable of contributing to delay.
Date picture taken
15 Jun 1955
Gallery
Comments
BOAC's Comet service 1960
I flew home after my first four year tour in August 1960 on a Tuesday morning Comet flight BOAC called the Canonball (sic) It was literally a same day service. We left Kai Tak around 8am and were at Heathrow by about 9pm the same day after making four or five stops along the way. Total Flying Time approx 22 hours so a big improvement on the advertised 1950s Super Cosstellaton service.Nick