Captain Mike Bannister, chief pilot of the fleet of British Airways jets, is not about to go quietly. Just this week, in fact, he set a record aboard one of the 62m-long planes.
With Captain Bannister at the helm, a Concorde flew from London's Heathrow Airport to Boston's Logan Airport in three hours, five minutes and 34 seconds, the fastest time ever.
PHOTO: NY TIMES
The trip will stand as the Concorde's last to Boston. Citing the poor air travel economy, British Airways will cease operations of the famous but ultimately ill-fated planes by the end of the month.
The airline allowed students, the media and others to view a Concorde one last time before it moved on to New York earlier this week for its final visit there.
Since the first flight of a Concorde on March 2, 1969, the airplanes have represented the fastest and most luxurious type of commercial air travel, enjoyed so often by the world's most-recognized celebrities that the best seats in each plane are called "celebrity row."
Two factors have made it impractical to offer seats for about US$8,000 each, round trip, on jets that travel at more than twice the speed of sound.
In July 2000, an Air France Concorde bound for New York crashed outside Paris two minutes after takeoff, slamming into a hotel and killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board.
It was the first time a Concorde had crashed, but led British Airways to withdraw all of its Concordes from service.
After an investigation by British authorities, British Airways, Air France and the plane's manufacturer reconfigured the aircraft's fuel system, changed its tires and made other safety improvements.
By the end of 2001, the fleet was returned to service, with new seats, washrooms and interiors.
But a worldwide slump in air travel after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks decreased demand for high-speed transatlantic flights, just as the Concorde was trying to once again find its audience.
"It is the economy," said Honor Verrier, spokeswoman for British Airways. "After 9-11, business travel just fell off. For us, it's very sad."
The British and French governments initiated a joint effort to create the Concorde in 1962. A prototype was rolled out by 1967. By the spring of 1969, Concorde 001 had flown from France, while Concorde 002 took off from England. Five more of the planes were ordered by British Airways in 1972 and took up service soon after.
Each Concorde contains 100 seats covered in Connolly leather, the same brand used in Jaguar and Rolls-Royce automobiles.
The seats are comfortably spaced, with enough room between them for an adult male to cross his legs, separated by a middle aisle. Tilt back, and the seat moves with you, cradling the body as nicely as a beloved family room chair.
Musicians and other celebrities have been some of the Concorde's biggest users.
Madonna and Jennifer Lopez have been regular passengers. Phil Collins took the Concorde from London to New York to appear on both sides of the Atlantic in one day for the Live Aid famine relief concert in 1985. Paul McCartney, Elton John, Diana Ross and even the Queen Mother have flown aboard the
Concorde.
It's difficult to appreciate just how fast a Concorde can fly. In flight, the planes cruise at 2,173kph, or two times the speed of sound. That is faster than any bullet shot from any weapon.
The planes soar at 18,288m -- over 18km high -- on the edge of outer space.
Despite the height and speed, passengers sit in regular street clothes, dining on such dishes as smoked salmon fish cakes, breast of guinea fowl and lobster truffle salad. Dom Perignon and Krug champagne flow as liberally as passengers wait for a digital screen near the front of the plane to indicate that the sound barrier has been broken.
Even today, 26 years after he first piloted a Concorde, Captain Bannister gets visibly excited describing the experience.
"We can see the curvature of the Earth, and the sky darkens and you see the edge of space," he said.
"We are traveling faster than a rifle bullet, faster than the Earth rotates."
The sun had already set when Captain Bannister and his crew left London last Wednesday night. They then flew to Boston so quickly that they arrived in time to watch the sun set again.
That, perhaps more than anything else, is the legacy of the Concorde, a plane that, after this month, will never fly again.
The plane facts
-- It cruised at around 2,173kph at an altitude of up to 18,288m.
-- A crossing from Europe to New York took less than three-and-a-half hours -- less than half the normal flying time for other jets.
-- The record crossing stands at two hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds
-- Traveling westwards the five-hour time difference meant Concorde landed before local arrival time caught up with the local departure time
-- Concorde was born out of separate French and British projects which joined forces in 1962
-- Concorde carried 100 passengers
-- Range: 6,880km
-- Speed: Mach Two (2,150kph)
-- The partnership led to the British Aircraft Corporation (later British Aerospace) and Aerospatiale of France to build 20 Concordes
-- The first prototype plane (001) was rolled out of its hangar at Toulouse in France in 1967
-- Its first flight took place on March 2, 1969, from Toulouse
-- 1969: Concorde successfully completed its first supersonic flight on Oct. 1
-- 1974: The aircraft completes its first double transatlantic journey in one day on June 17
-- The first commercial flights took place on 21 January 1976 when British Airways flew from London Heathrow to Bahrain and Air France from Paris to Rio
Source: BBC
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