Concorde

The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was one of only two models of supersonic passenger airliners to have seen commercial service. Concorde had a cruise speed of Mach 2.04 and a cruise altitude of 60,000 feet (17,700 metres) with a delta wing configuration and an evolution of the reheat-equipped engines originally developed for the Avro Vulcan strategic bomber. It was the first civil airliner to be equipped with an analogue fly-by-wire flight control system. Commercial flights, operated by British Airways and Air France, began on January 21 1976 and ended on October 24 2003, with the last "retirement" flight on November 26 that year.

Scheduled flights

Scheduled flights started on January 21, 1976 on the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes. The U.S. Congress had just banned Concorde landings in the US, mainly due to citizen protest over sonic booms, preventing launch on the coveted transatlantic routes.

Related Topics:
January 21 - 1976 - London - Bahrain - Paris - Rio - U.S. Congress - Sonic boom - Transatlantic

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When the US ban was lifted in February for over-water supersonic flight, New York quickly followed by banning Concorde locally. Left with little choice on the destination, AF and BA started transatlantic services to Washington, D.C. on May 24. Finally, in late 1977, the noise concerns of New York residents gave way to the advantages of Concorde traffic, and scheduled service from Paris and London to New York's John F. Kennedy airport started on November 22 1977. Flights operated by BA were coded 'BA001' through 'BA004'.

Related Topics:
New York - Washington, D.C. - May 24 - 1977 - John F. Kennedy airport - November 22

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The average flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. Up to 2003, both Air France and British Airways continued to operate the New York services daily. Additionally, Concorde flew to Barbados's Grantley Adams International Airport during the winter holiday season and, occasionally, to charter destinations such as Rovaniemi, Finland. On November 1, 1986, a chartered Concorde circumnavigated the world in 31 hours and 51 minutes.

Related Topics:
Barbados's - Grantley Adams International Airport - Rovaniemi - Finland - 1986

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For a brief period in 1977, and again from 1979 to 1980, British Airways and Singapore Airlines used a shared Concorde for flights between Bahrain and Singapore Changi Airport. The aircraft, G-BOAD, was painted in Singapore Airways livery on the port side and British Airways livery on the starboard side. The service was discontinued after three months because of noise complaints from the Malaysian government; it could only be reinstated when a new route, bypassing Malaysian airspace, was designed. However, an ongoing dispute with India prevented the Concorde from reaching supersonic speeds in Indian airspace, so the route was eventually declared not viable. From September 1978 to November 1982 during the Mexican oil boom, Air France flew the Concorde twice weekly to Mexico City's Benito Juárez International Airport via Washington D.C.. The economic crisis caused the cancellation of the route to Mexico City and the last flights were almost empty. From time to time the Concorde came back on chartered flights with stops in Mexico City and Acapulco.

Related Topics:
1977 - 1979 - 1980 - Singapore Airlines - Singapore Changi Airport - Malaysia - India - Mexico City - Benito Juárez International Airport

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From 1979 to 1980, Braniff International leased two Concordes, one from both British Airways and Air France. These were used on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to JFK, feeding the routes of BA and AF to London and Paris. The aircraft were registered in both the United States and their home countries, for legal reasons: a sticker would cover up each aircraft's European registration while it was being operated by Braniff. On DFW-JFK flights, the Concordes had Braniff flight crews, although they maintained their native airline livery. However, the flights were not profitable for Braniff and were usually less than 25% booked, which forced Braniff to end its term as the only U.S. Concorde operator.

Related Topics:
1979 - 1980 - Braniff International - British Airways - Air France - Dallas-Fort Worth - JFK

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