Members of the public and pilots have helped Concorde to beat the Boeing 747 in the final battle of an Aircraft World Cup hosted by the British Airline Pilots’ Association.

Thousands of votes were cast in the nail biting finish to the competition, which was hosted on the association’s Facebook and Twitter pages, with Concorde pipping Jumbo to the post with 57% of the votes.

The competition kicked off in April with 32 types of commercial aircraft, and voters subsequently showed their support for the two iconic aircraft by paving their way to the final.

Captain Brendan O’Neal, Executive President of the British Airline Pilots’ Association, said:

“What a final. The public have shown their love for these two iconic aircraft and pilots have voted for the remarkable machines that help them do their jobs day in, day out, ensuring passengers are safe and comfortable and helping bring more than £52 billion to the UK economy every year.

“Piloting any aircraft takes skill and huge amounts of training. Both the B747 and Concorde are no different. But it’s no surprise that Concorde, the unique supersonic aircraft that BALPA had a hand in the development of, has taken the title.

“This Aircraft World Cup has been a bit of fun, but also shows the pride pilots have in the job they do and the interest and respect the public has for the aviation industry as a whole.

“Congratulations to Concorde and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.”