Wednesday, 24 October 2012

On this Day: 24th October 2003, Concordes last flight



Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was first flown in 1969, entered service in 1976 and continued commercial flights for 27 years.

Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to New York JFK and Washington Dulles; it profitably flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners. With only 20 aircraft built, the development of Concorde was a substantial economic loss; Air France and British Airways also received considerable government subsidies to purchase them. Concorde was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the aviation industry after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and a decision by Airbus, the successor firm of Aerospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support.

In a week of farewell flights around the United Kingdom, Concorde visited Birmingham on 20 October, Belfast on 21 October, Manchester on 22 October, Cardiff on 23 October and Edinburgh on 24 October. On 23 October 2003, the Queen consented to the illumination of Windsor Castle, an honour reserved for state events and visiting dignitaries, as Concorde's last west-bound commercial flight departed London.
British Airways retired its Concorde fleet on 24 October. G-BOAG left New York, G-BOAF flew over the Bay of Biscay, carrying VIP guests including former Concorde pilots, while G-BOAE flew from Edinburgh. The three aircraft then circled over London, having received special permission to fly at low altitude, before landing in sequence at Heathrow.

Photo Legacy: Making your memories last forever www.photolegacy.com 

Research courtesy of Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde#Retirement

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