airgator
FUBIJAR
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2001
- Posts
- 367
I would imagine Air France will also get rid of theirs. Unfortunately we probably won't see another supersonic civ transport for a long time.
From the BBC website:
Concorde to retire by end 2003
Concorde has been ravaged by safety problems
British Airways will confirm on Thursday that it is retiring its supersonic Concorde service, the BBC has learned.
Passenger numbers have never recovered since the crash near Paris in 2000 and the aircraft no longer makes a profit.
Concorde is expected to cease flying in the autumn, probably when BA's summer timetable ends on the last weekend of October, BBC transport correspondent Simon Montague said.
Air France has made no comment on whether it is close to pulling its Concorde service, after reports it would retire the service by 2007.
Concorde has been blighted by a rash of problems.
Three years ago 113 people were killed in the Paris crash.
Engine failure
At the end of last year it emerged engine failure forced one New York-bound plane to turn back to London and another flight was forced to cut its speed when cracks appeared in a window.
In January this year, an Air France Concorde covering the Paris to New York route was forced to return to Charles de Gaul airport when the plane's nose cone was unable to move into position for supersonic speed.
Past incidents
20 February: Emergency landing after engine problems
12 January: Nose cone malfunctions
27 Nov 02: Part of tail rudder falls off
6 Nov 02: Engine fails, sparking panic
3 Nov 02: Plane turns round after engine failure
30 Oct 02: Speed cut after window cracks spotted
July 02: Turnaround after engine power surge
April 02: Engine failure causes mid-air 'bang'
March 02: Take-off abandoned after computer glitch
Nov 01: Flight aborted over engine reheats
The Concorde phenomenon
In November 2002, part of the rudder on a British Airways Concorde fell off as the plane was flying between London and New York.
And earlier that month passengers flying on an Air France Concorde had a scare as the pilot was forced to make the plane rapidly descend 8,000 metres (27,000 feet) after one of its jet engines failed.
An investigation concluded that the July 2000 disaster happened after a piece of metal lying on the runway burst one of plane's tyres.
Currently, BA's Concordes are certified to fly until 2009.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the Civil Aviation Authority both say Concorde remains safe to fly.
Both Air France and BA Concorde services have been badly affected in recent months by the American economic downturn and the Iraqi conflict.
The plane, born out a joint Anglo-French project, and developed by engineers at Filton, near Bristol, operates daily out of London Heathrow and Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to North America.
It cruises at around 1350 mph at an altitude of up to 60,000ft (11 miles) meaning a crossing from Europe to New York takes less than three and a half hours.
From the BBC website:
Concorde to retire by end 2003
Concorde has been ravaged by safety problems
British Airways will confirm on Thursday that it is retiring its supersonic Concorde service, the BBC has learned.
Passenger numbers have never recovered since the crash near Paris in 2000 and the aircraft no longer makes a profit.
Concorde is expected to cease flying in the autumn, probably when BA's summer timetable ends on the last weekend of October, BBC transport correspondent Simon Montague said.
Air France has made no comment on whether it is close to pulling its Concorde service, after reports it would retire the service by 2007.
Concorde has been blighted by a rash of problems.
Three years ago 113 people were killed in the Paris crash.
Engine failure
At the end of last year it emerged engine failure forced one New York-bound plane to turn back to London and another flight was forced to cut its speed when cracks appeared in a window.
In January this year, an Air France Concorde covering the Paris to New York route was forced to return to Charles de Gaul airport when the plane's nose cone was unable to move into position for supersonic speed.
Past incidents
20 February: Emergency landing after engine problems
12 January: Nose cone malfunctions
27 Nov 02: Part of tail rudder falls off
6 Nov 02: Engine fails, sparking panic
3 Nov 02: Plane turns round after engine failure
30 Oct 02: Speed cut after window cracks spotted
July 02: Turnaround after engine power surge
April 02: Engine failure causes mid-air 'bang'
March 02: Take-off abandoned after computer glitch
Nov 01: Flight aborted over engine reheats
The Concorde phenomenon
In November 2002, part of the rudder on a British Airways Concorde fell off as the plane was flying between London and New York.
And earlier that month passengers flying on an Air France Concorde had a scare as the pilot was forced to make the plane rapidly descend 8,000 metres (27,000 feet) after one of its jet engines failed.
An investigation concluded that the July 2000 disaster happened after a piece of metal lying on the runway burst one of plane's tyres.
Currently, BA's Concordes are certified to fly until 2009.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the Civil Aviation Authority both say Concorde remains safe to fly.
Both Air France and BA Concorde services have been badly affected in recent months by the American economic downturn and the Iraqi conflict.
The plane, born out a joint Anglo-French project, and developed by engineers at Filton, near Bristol, operates daily out of London Heathrow and Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to North America.
It cruises at around 1350 mph at an altitude of up to 60,000ft (11 miles) meaning a crossing from Europe to New York takes less than three and a half hours.
