The Concorde is a retired turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner or supersonic transport (SST). The Concorde remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service. Among other destinations, Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to New York JFK and Washington Dulles; it profitably flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners. While commercial jets take eight hours to fly from New York to Paris, the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. The Concorde was first flown in 1969, entered service in 1976 and continued commercial flights for 27 years. It was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the aviation industry after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.