Concorde
The other day Demos announced the results of a poll of what symbols made us proud to be British. Shakespeare came out top, followed by stuff like the Pound, the Beatles, the Union Jack, our armed forces etc. Missing from the list, some eight years after her demise, was Concorde, a symbol which – had she still been flying – would otherwise have figured in the top 10, surely. I am reminded of a friend who, some thirty years ago almost, said: “We only have two things to be proud of in this country: Concorde and David Bowie”.
I am writing this now, only because today is the anniversary of Concorde’s inaugural service from London to New York, in 1977. A time when the economy, like today, was in very poor shape. Not quite the same as the early 2000s, when the Air France disaster happened. Millions were invested in modifications to make both fleets of Concorde safer, yet Air France and British Airways scrapped them in 2003. British Airways at that time was run by Australian Rod Eddington. An accountant.
I was one of the relatively fortunate few who flew on Concorde, not through wealth, I must emphasise, but rather as an occasional document courier. But like most people who live within 30 miles of Heathrow, I was a fan. You could set your watch by Speedbird’s take-off and landings and you never, ever didn’t look up as she roared past high above you. I’ll never forget driving on Heathrow’s western perimiter road as she took off a few hundred feet overhead. The van rocked, the goosebumps instantaneous. Ahhh, how we miss her.
If the decision was purely accounting, then BA would have kept them flying as they were profitable.
My understanding from talking to people involved with Concorde is that there was a flying pact between the two airlines and the planes would only fly if both airlines agreed.
It was — apparently — a decision by Air France to shut down its loss making service that forced BA to close its profitable service.
It maybe that I have been misinformed, but BA certainly didn’t close the service for money saving reasons.
Ian, lots of finger pointing at the time, but I think you are right in the essentials, ie that Air France bottled it rather than BA. But in my opinion, BA didn’t put up enough of a fight. As I understand it, having done all the modifications, the big additional cost that was about to kick in was airworthiness certification.
I managed to blag a trip on Concorde (as a hack) only to have the offer withdrawn barely two hours later following the dreadful Paris crash. It was never reinstated and – whilst subsequently I scored a flight in a two-seater Spitfire, which was pretty bl**dy cool – I still very much regret what I missed.
Ha ha, I remember you mentioned the Spitfire gig once or twice. I must ask you about that when next we meet. Shame about Concorde though.
Lived in Hampshire while Concorde was being flight tested in the early 70’s – used to see it/them often circling in their ‘pre airline paint job – pretty exciting stuff for a young lad. 20 years later, thanks to air miles, got to fly from Washington DC (before Concorde was banned there) to Heathrow and back. Glad to be able to say I flew on it!
There’s a plaque to Sir George Edwards in Highams Park E4 at 499 Hale End Road close to where I live. He was born there above his father’s toy shop and went to the same school as I did. I was never aware at the time; I think the plaque has only gone up in the last few years.
I was very fortunate to once fly the Concorde from New York to London back in the ’80’s. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable experience. It was all accidental that I was transferred over to the Concorde flight when the British Airways Boeing 747 flight I was booked to fly was cancelled due to engine problems at JFK. I still recall seeing the slight curvature of the earth at 55,000 ft while traveling at Mach 2. It was a lucky day for me for which I’m grateful.
In a family holiday treat in (I believe) 1984, my sister and I were given a surprise flight back to Edinburgh from Heathrow – rather than taking the train from Kings Cross, as expected.
If traveling on an ordinary jet plane wasn’t exciting enough, we were delighted to arrive back at Edinburgh and park up a few feet from Concorde, which, with engines running, was being loaded up for a return flight to London.
At the time, British Airways (not just the initials) were in a public relations war with British Caledonian and British Midland over who could provide the best Scotland to London shuttle experience – This was still in the tail-end of air travel’s glamour days, when service value, not price, was key to winning lucrative business.
British Airways trumped the other airlines by periodically sticking Concorde on the Edinburgh – London route for a few flights each week. I doubt it travelled supersonic, but it certainly got the bookings in, and the photographers out.
I had a tear in my eye the day I stood on a pedestrian bridge with a crowd of other onlookers to watch, hear, and feel Concorde leave Turnhouse for the last time in 2003. My understanding was also that she needed significant upgrades for airworthiness certification, and this would have involved, among other things, completely replacing the flight controls and avionics stack.
Concorde G-BOAA is now in a hanger at the Scottish National Museum of Flight, about a twenty minute drive from Edinburgh.
It’s not a particularly busy attraction off-season, and on a quiet day you can get the whole bird to yourself.
Ah, there you go, Tom. The fuselage on the barge was the one destined for Scotland.
That was right. She arrived at the museum in kit form. Beautiful aircraft. So sad they’re no longer operational. They look as if they’re in flight even when they’re stood still.
When I’m King, accountants will no longer be able to run companies.
The main thing I remember about Concorde is my son, then a schoolboy (today a university professor), telling me that they called one of their teachers “Concorde” behind his back because he had a long droopy nose.
I wonder what they would call one such theses days.
A man I know of called Graham Lyle says on Facebook that he flew Concorde.
Can any-one tell me if this is true or does he just have a vivid imagination.
He is around 40 years of age
The below website would suggest not….
http://www.clubconcorde.co.uk/concorde_captains.php
Hi,
I was on a Concorde flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh on St Andrews day (30th November) 1982 and we flew the route supersonic. return flight was subsonic.
Regards,
David
Not a bad plane, eh? 🙂