Thanks for the response, Minnie!
Those engineers, at the time, probably thought all those long international flights were gonna' be soon be taken over by SSTs...!!!!!
And, we know how that turned out. The American version was cancelled before two prototypes were ever even finished, the Russian version was only in passenger service for about six months, and even the Concorde has been long retired. Just way too inefficient, thus, way too expensive to operate, and ticket prices out the wazoo for your average passenger.
When my SisIL used to fly for American Airlines (I forget what the circumstances were) she flew from Paris to New York on a Concorde, and said it was a hoot...such a quick trip compared to subsonic flight...!
I would have loved to have flown on one!
I'm actually surprised Concorde was in service as long as it was. Though much slower, the high-bypass turbofan engines of today are so much more efficient and cost effective than supersonic turbojets.
Just a bit of trivia...
The Concorde could carry up to 128 passengers at a cruising speed of around 1,200 mph, the American (Boeing) SST was being designed to carry up to 277 passengers at a cruising speed of around 1,800 mph...!!!!!
And, here I sit, still waiting for my hovercar...
