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October 24 will mark 15 years since British Airways withdrew Concorde, bringing to an end the world’s only supersonic passenger service. The last scheduled commercial flight was BA2 from JFK, operated by G-BOAG.
BusinessLine looks at the journey of the supersonic jet with BA, which began in January 1976, with the world’s first supersonic service simultaneously inaugurated by BA to Bahrain and by Air France to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar.
March 1969: The first flight from Toulouse, France, takes off, shortly followed by one from Filton, UK in April.
January 1976: The world’s first passenger supersonic services inaugurated simultaneously by BA to Bahrain (Concorde G-BOAA) and Air France to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar.
May 1976: Concorde flights to Washington Dulles start, but problems with noise levels delay operations to New York’s JFK airport.
November 1977: Concorde services start to New York JFK.
December 1977: The Bahrain service extended to Singapore. It was operated in conjunction with Singapore Airlines. Concorde G-BOAD wore Singapore Airlines’ livery on its port side with the BA livery on the starboard side.
June 1980: The seventh and final Concorde delivered.
May 1982: BA launches the Concorde charter market.
March 1984: Concorde services to Washington extended to Miami, three days a week.
March 1991: Cuts in a number of uneconomic services announced and Concorde services to Miami withdrawn.
November 1994: Concorde services to Washington discontinued after 18 years.
August 2000: BA cancels all Concorde operations after the loss of an Air France aircraft near Paris’ Charles de Gaulle in July. BA remains optimistic that services will resume at some point.
January 2001: BA starts modifying its Concorde aircraft with the hope of resuming services later in the year. £17m spent on safety-related modifications and £14m on upgrading the on-board product.
September 2001: Concorde’s Certificate of Airworthiness returned by the Civil Aviation Authority and its French equivalent, DGAC. This marks the end of an intensive work programme by the manufacturers, regulatory authorities, BA and Air France to ensure Concorde returns safely to service.
October 2001: Concorde tickets go on sale and were snapped up in preparation for the flagship’s return to commercial service.
November 2001: Concorde returns to commercial service. G-BOAF lands in New York for the first time since July the previous year.
2002: BA launches a summer promotion for Concorde return fares to New York. The special Concorde tickets go on sale for £3,999.
April 2003: BA announces the retirement of its Concorde fleet of seven aircraft with effect from the end of October 2003.
24 October 2003: BA withdraws Concorde, signalling the end of the world’s only supersonic passenger service. The last scheduled commercial flight was BA2 from JFK operated by G-BOAG. BA’s fleet of seven aircraft dispersed for preservation at Barbados, Edinburgh, Filton, Manchester, New York and Seattle with one remaining at Heathrow.
Source: British Airways
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