Unprofitable SST to be Grounded By End Of Year
British Airways and Air France have both announced that they
will stop flying the glamorous but uneconomic Concorde before the
year is out. Air France, in fact, may not fly their Concordes past
the end of May.
Since the Concorde's (only) crash in July of 2000, the mystique
of flying the pointy machine hasn't returned. Mandated safety
changes made the machine more-expensive, shortened its range a bit,
and... failed to restore public confidence. The worldwide economy
isn't flying so high lately, either.
'Til Then: Special Deals
This is likely to come when BA's summer timetable ends on the
last weekend of October.
A spokesman for BA said the company would be continuing revised
special ticket deals.
[The BBC reported the deals thus: London to New York one-way
ticket on Concorde and a subsonic return in economy class for
�1,999 (US$3110).
One-way on Concorde and a subsonic
return in business class (Club World) for �2,999 (US$4666).
One-way on Concorde and a subsonic return in first class for
�3,499 (US$5444). One Concorde return flight for
�3,999 (US$6222) These offers are valid from Thursday
for travel until the end of August.]
Death knell for 'premium services?'
The airline's statement said: "BA has decided that such an
investment cannot be justified in the face of falling revenue
caused by a global downturn in demand for all forms of premium
travel in the airline industry."
BA's chief executive Rod Eddington said, "Concorde has served us
well and we are extremely proud to have flown this marvellous and
unique aircraft for the past 27 years. This is the end of a
fantastic era in world aviation, but bringing forward Concorde's
retirement is a prudent business decision at a time when we are
having to make difficult decisions right across the airline."
Air France Decides Same
"It is with regret that Air France
has decided to end operations by Concorde," said Air France chief
executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta.
A BBC article notes that "BA said retiring the ageing Concordes
would result in �84million ($131 million) write-off
costs for the year ended March 2003."
The planes will likely soon head for museums -- or
e-Bay.
Concorde Incidents (adapted from BBC list):
-
February 20, 2003:
Emergency landing after engine problems
- January 12, 2003: Nose cone malfunctions
- November 27, 2002: Part of tail rudder falls
off
- November 6, 2002: Engine fails, sparking panic
- November 3, 2002: Plane turns around after
engine failure
- October 30, 2002: Speed cut after window
cracks spotted
- July, 2002: Problem after engine power
surge
- April, 2002: Engine failure causes mid-air
'bang'
- March, 2002: Take-off abandoned after computer
glitch
- November, 2001: Flight aborted over engine
reheats
- July, 2000: Only loss of a Concorde kills 113
Adieu, chere Concorde.