The De Havilland DH 106 Comet operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation reduced the overall journey time by a third. Despite this time difference the aircraft still needed to stop in multiple places along the way in order to refuel. The crew was also replaced in Beirut and Khartoum due to the length of the flight.
One of the passengers was journalist Aubrey O. Cookman, Jr. who wrote for the American-produced Popular Mechanics magazine. In an article written shortly after the flight, he noted that his fellow passengers included a dentist, a chemist, a policewoman, a composer, and a number of engineers and businessmen.
Despite the significant differences to the conventional propeller aircraft journey, and the fact that this was the first passenger jet aircraft, the ticket cost exactly the same amount of money. The cost was £175 single or £315 return, and travel insurance premiums remained the same. Fortunately for the passengers and crew, the flight went successfully.
The De Havilland Comet’s reputation suffered irreparable damage as a result of three devastating accidents just a year after its first commercial flight. This led many airlines to switch to new models such as the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8.
A heavily modified version of the Comet was introduced by the Royal Air Force for military service in 1969. Known as the Nimrod, it was retired in 2011 having seen action in the Falklands War, the First Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq.
