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If any petition should be made, it needs to be against airbus.
Theyare one of the main reasons BA must retire Concorde as well as what I highlighted above.
Since AF retired theire to due costs, Airbus have turned round and said they refuse to make special parts just for 6 aircraft.
With no aircraft parts, you have no spares. AF and future owners of the AF concorde fleet refuse to allow BA to canabalise their retired aircraft.
So, what can BA do?! With no parts they cannot run the aircraft.
The Parts stock went down to low levels i the last few years.
Hell, an air france concorde has been flying for month with a BA Tail rudder!!
Yes, Concorde was a triumph of European design, something the americans, or anyone else could get close to. Concorde was the only SST that commercially made money. Air France and Ba only eeded 30 odd pax per plane to make a profit! but of late, they’ve been struggling to even get into the teens of Pax.
That, compounded with the dilema that no more parts will soon be available has forced her retirement.
This wasn’t a decision by BA management just to Cheese people offlike this petition suggests… it was a safety decision.
Infact, BA wanted to keep her running untill at least 2010.
They have spent a lot of money overhauling their fleet to meet the new safety requirements after F-BTSC crashed. And there’s about £12.5 millon worth of new interior sitting in boxes at heathrow for the Concorde. A refurbishment that was planned for the winter, when pax numbers are usually lower.
But, after all that is said, one fact remains:
You can’t run a fleet of aircraft without spare parts!
Thats the Main reason folks.
Also. G-BOAG is the heaviest Concorde in the BA fleet. Due to repairs made after a heavy landing, somewhere in the middle east. Consequently she’s the most expensive to run, thats why she was in storage for years.
G-BOAC would be a nice touch, to keep her flying, but she’ll need a big cash injection to get her airworthy. That is, if its possible at all.