Aviation experts explain why it still takes 5 hours to fly across the country

In January 1959, the first transcontinental commercial jet trip flew from Los Angeles to New York City in five and a half hours. Today, the same trip will take a half hour to an hour longer (that is, if your flight isn’t delayed). A lot has changed since 1959—fares are less expensive, planes have reduced effects on the environment, and we’ve reached astonishing levels of safety—yet the speed hasn’t increased, and the romance of flying is gone. So why is the Concorde, the fastest commer...