PLEASE NOTE: This is an unconfirmed report from Supanet
The era of supersonic aviation will be over in months.
Concorde is to be taken out of service because of a slump in transatlantic travel and technical problems, British Airways has confirmed.
A study group of executives from BA and Air France is considering when to retire the supersonic jet, which entered service in 1976. The aircraft has struggled to attract passengers to the US since an Air France Concorde crashed in Paris killing 114 people in 2000.
Only five of BA’s seven Concordes are in service, and the 15 Concorde captains and nine first officers have been told they will be rostered for other flights.
Since the crash, which led to the grounding of the fleet for 15 months, the aircraft has suffered a number of technical glitches. It returned to the air in November 2001 after a £30 million upgrade and refit, including £17 million on enhanced safety features.
But the slump in demand, accentuated by the global economic slowdown and war in Iraq, has persuaded BA to withdraw it from service. Passenger numbers are barely 40% of capacity.
Concorde is also expensive to run because maintainence costs are abnormally high, and spare parts are scarce because no supersonic planes have been manufactured for more than 20 years.
It is understood there are no plans to sell the fleet to another airline, as it is argued that no other airline has the capacity to run a Concorde fleet.
The planes, which can travel at 1,350mph, or twice the speed of sound, are expected to end their days as museum pieces.
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It’s a sad day for aviation, but somewhat expected. I personally will be sorry to see Concorde disappear from the skies, but it does seem like the time is right, with 9/11 and now the war in Iraq it would seem that the industry can no longer support Concorde.
I dare say that dispite BA’s comments about the aircraft not being available for sale, Richard Branson will still do all that he can to get his hands on some of the aircraft.
Goodbye to a really beautiful bird.
By: flyingfemme - 11th April 2003 at 16:32
I’d be happy to see Concorde fly
in ANY livery but don’t think the politicians will allow it. They always made a healthy profit in the past – so the reasons given are bu****it. Let’s face it; the marketing is non-existant. BA have always been much more expensive than AF on a given route and the charters were always sold out. If they can’t fill the seats they are not doing it right!
Very glad I took the opportunity – when flights were £500…..
By: dan330 - 10th April 2003 at 23:00
Very sad news, my dads flying on her in a few weeks, even more of a lucky git now!
Would be great if Virgin did try to make a go of it, with no Air France flights it could be profitable from LHR I’m sure. Reading the a.net postings it seems hes offered £1 for each aircraft, apparently the same amount that BA paid for them.
To be honest I would love to see a Virgin Concorde but I would be very, very surprised if it actually happened, probably just a Branson publicity stunt.
By: A330Crazy - 10th April 2003 at 22:31
Like Ren’s image, I thought this one also was fitting… Concorde enthusiast websites are calling today “Black Thursday”
http://mach02.free.fr/photos_ld/ctx0202/g_ld_chr_113_1024x768.jpg
By: A330Crazy - 10th April 2003 at 22:17
Well i have just been reading up on some of the posts on the airliners.net forums, and it seems that many of the members on there think that Virgin will be flying Concorde next….
Have a read yourselfs…
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1064520/ — STORY OF OFFICIAL GROUNDING AND PEOPLES VIEWS ON THIS.
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1064649/ — CONCORDE AND WHERE IT WILL END UP?
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1064986/ — A PLEE THAT SHE WILL BE SAVED!
By: martin_EGTK - 10th April 2003 at 22:00
Kenneth, I agree with your point completely. However, I think if Richard Branson were to get hold of some of the aircraft the press would suddenly do a U-turn and declare Concorde a triumph once more due to Virgin’s good PR!
Having said that I would love Virgin to get hold of the aircraft, just to keep it flying, and it would look great in that c/s!
By: Kenneth - 10th April 2003 at 21:51
The news media put the last nail in its coffin. The manner in which all (!) non-aviation news media blew every technical mishap out of proportion in the more and more popular “schock-horror” style scared away the last passengers. I hope that there are a lot of so-called “journalists” out there now with a bad taste in their mouth, but they are probably too busy working on articles as to how the world environment will now be saved and Heathrow/Paris residents are no longer going to live in eternal fear of a Concorde falling on their heads now that this terrible, terrible aircraft is being retired. Did someone just whisper in my ear what a technological achievement this aircraft was and how it represented what British aircraft industry was once capable of? No, must have been a mistake….
By: T5 - 10th April 2003 at 21:35
It’s possible. I think Concorde is still a strong, potentially profitable aircraft and one that shouldn’t go to waste.
By: A330Crazy - 10th April 2003 at 21:29
I would still like to R.Branson make a go of it! 🙂
By: T5 - 10th April 2003 at 21:27
What a waste.
I think technology has just taken a dramatic step backwards. Whereas you could travel over the Atlantic in 3 hours aboard a supersonic jet, it will now take at least twice as long. We want to get to places quicker…
By: mongu - 10th April 2003 at 19:12
What a shame!
The radio on the drive home was sayig that the Bearded Wonder has actually offered to buy the aircraft. I hope he does. I can just see it now – 18 yo stewardesses with “Trainee supersonic virgin” accross their breasts!
By: MSR777 - 10th April 2003 at 18:51
End of a very significant era, very sad!
By: Ren Frew - 10th April 2003 at 12:43
Thought this pic seemed appropriate given today’s news. The sun setting over Concorde…
By: martin_EGTK - 10th April 2003 at 12:32
Well it’s confirmedd now. BA are to retire theirs in October, Air France next month. It’s a sad day.
By: Ren Frew - 10th April 2003 at 09:29
Sad news but I suppose all good things must come to an end. On a negative note, us mere mortals may be forced to share trans Atlantic flights with the likes of Sting and Elton John now. Aaaaarrrgghhhhh! 😮
I wonder if there will be a series of farewell enthusiast flights available ?
By: Ashley - 10th April 2003 at 09:25
Latest from BBC website on the matter:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2934257.stm
Ashley
By: Arabella-Cox - 10th April 2003 at 07:46
0730 hrs BBC news
Announced that BA Concorde will be withdrawn from service in October 2003
Sad!
By: greekdude1 - 10th April 2003 at 00:36
I seriously doubt that Virgin would acquire “a couple” of aircraft just to say they operated Concorde. This wouldn’t be the least bit feasible, even less so if only 2 or 3 aircraft are involved.
By: martin_EGTK - 9th April 2003 at 15:11
Well the BBC ended up scrapping their coverage on the Concorde Story on the one o’clock news for the war in Iraq.
There appears to be nothing more on the BBC web site, so it does indeed seem that this is just another case of scare mungering…….damn press.
By: mongu - 9th April 2003 at 13:49
Scare mongering
By: T5 - 9th April 2003 at 13:12
The way I understood it was that BA would continue to operate Concorde until 2010 when a suitable replacement was found – the Sonic Cruiser which we now know is not to happen.
I don’t think the world could live without supersonic air travel!
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April 9, 2003 at 12:10 pm