Jeremy Clarkson had a question for God about Concorde 38,000 feet in the air

Jeremy Clarkson once had a conversation with ‘God’ about Concorde while flying business class in a Boeing 747.

Actually, it wasn’t really a conversation, more like a question.

The clip was part of a show completely unrelated to Top Gear and The Grand Tour, which is why the question about Concorde was relevant.

And, more importantly, it is still a very good question – and one we don’t have an answer to.

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Jeremy Clarkson asked a specific question about Concorde

Most people know Jeremy Clarkson from the Top Gear and Grand Tour era – and more recently for Clarkson’s Farm – but the 65-year-old presenter also starred in several other shows.

In the early 2000s, Clarkson presented a five-part BBC Two documentary titled ‘Inventions That Changed the World‘, and one of the inventions mentioned in the show was the jet.

In order to prove a point and show how the invention of jet engines changed the way we travel, Clarkson flew across four continents in about five days.

With the exception of one domestic flight in the US (NYC-LA), Clarkson flew business class on Boeing 747 airliners for this show.

The Boeing 747 was good but, in his opinion, not as good as it could’ve been.

And that’s why he decided to ask ‘God’ a simple question.

“We’re currently flying along at 38,000 feet, which means we’re a little closer to God, so I hope he hears this,” he said, before asking the key question.

“Why have you allowed us to go backwards? Why haven’t we got Concorde? If I’d have been in Concorde now, I’d have been at home,” he asked God.

That’s a very good question, and it’s stil pertinent over 20 years later.

The reason why we’re no longer flying supersonic

There are several reasons why we’re no longer flying supersonic.

Cost was a factor.

With Concorde, you were basically paying business class fares for economy class seats.

The seats were larger and comfortable, and you’d get champagne, but it wasn’t what you’d call luxurious.

Flying on Concorde was for the elite, but even so Air France and British Airways were struggling to make a profit.

The second reason, and the real deal-breaker, was the plane’s sonic boom.

Concorde produced a very loud sonic boom that was so disruptive some countries banned it altogether.

And this is still a problem today.

Several companies are working on Concorde successors, and mitigating the iconic (but annoying) sonic boom is a major concern for all of them.