USA/ UNITED KINGDOM: NEW YORK RESIDENTS REFLECT ON BRITISH AIRWAYS CONCORDE AS THE SUPERSONIC PLANE PREPARES FOR THE LAST FLIGHT HOME

Record ID: 837247

  • Title: USA/ UNITED KINGDOM: NEW YORK RESIDENTS REFLECT ON BRITISH AIRWAYS CONCORDE AS THE SUPERSONIC PLANE PREPARES FOR THE LAST FLIGHT HOME
  • Date: 23rd October 2003
  • Summary: (U7) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 23, 2003) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANNISTER SAYING: "The human race has never taken backwards steps for very long and I'm convinced that at some time in the future, we'll be flying at high speed again. I've got a daughter who's nine years old and I just can envisage her turning to her children in years to come and saying, 'Remember when granddad used to cross the Atlantic in three hours and twenty minutes? Now it always takes eight and a half hours.' Not in the short term, but I'm convinced it will happen." SLV CONCORDE TICKET EBAY WINNER, DR. DAVID HAYES AND WIFE PATTY WALKING IN TIMES SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA / LONDON ENGLAND
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVAA8168SLRL91GYHUV8CIJU4CX
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  • Story Text: On the eve of the last Concorde commercial flight, some are glad to be a part of the historic day, while others rejoice the passing of the noisy plane.
    The world's only supersonic airliner, Concorde, retires from commercial flight on Friday (October 24) after almost 30 years of jetting the rich and famous across the Atlantic at up to twice the speed of sound.
    The last Concorde operated by British Airways will leave New York's JFK airport on Friday morning bound for London's Heathrow.
    British Airways Chairman Lord Colin Marshall said Friday was going to be a bitter sweet day.
    "I'm obviously very sad to see the end of Concorde and effectively the end of supersonic flight for commercial purposes for airline use. At the same time, I think it is very important to celebrate the success of Concorde itself as an icon," said Marshall.
    The Anglo-French jet dubbed "Speedbird One" by controllers, the only supersonic passenger aircraft in the world, will retire from service on Friday.
    Originally conceived in the early 1960s as a joint development project between Paris and London, the arrow-shaped airliner first took to the skies commercially in 1976.
    The French model, Concorde 001, took the first fare-paying passengers in January that year from Paris to Rio de Janeiro with the British Concorde 002 lifting off at the same time headed from London to Bahrain.
    Four months later both aircraft landed at the same time at Dulles airport in Washington.
    But already the writing was on the wall for the fuel guzzler as the world's aircraft industry, propelled by the first oil crisis in the early 1970s, switched to giants of the skies carrying hundreds of passengers each.
    Of an initial plan to make 300 Concordes, only 16 were ever manufactured of which two were the prototypes and only 14 flew commercially.
    For years luxuriating in the title of the safest airliner in the world, Concorde's immaculate image was mauled in July 2000 when an Air France model crashed in flames on takeoff from Paris, killing everyone on board.
    Both fleets were promptly grounded for more than a year for major safety refits.
    Mike Bannister, the British Airways pilot who will be flying Friday's final flight, talked about his long love affair with the plane.
    "Well I think it's only this week when I was asked that I've added, that its around 8,000 hours, 6,000 of those supersonic. Airplane averages around about 1,000 miles and hour, so it's around 8 million miles in Concorde, or 16 round trips to the moon. It doesn't feel like that because every time I fly it feels new and fresh and it's still fun and exciting."
    The last Air France Concorde flew on May 31, and there are only four British Airways models still in service -- the last of which will fly in from New York on Friday to an emotional reception with thousands expected to watch the spectacle.
    But the plane has retained its hold on the public imagination and Concorde enthusiasts have appealed to BA to keep some planes airborne rather than hand them over, as planned, to museums and airports where they will gather dust.
    A Toledo, Ohio Doctor bid $60,300 dollars (US) and managed to capture the last two seats on this week's final flight of the Concorde. The tickets were auctioned off on Monday on the internet site Ebay with the proceeds going to charity.
    Auction winner David Hayes was in New York on Thursday with his wife and co-traveller Patty on the eve of the flight, seeing the city and doing the rounds of media interviews.
    Hayes, who has flown the Concorde three times before, describe the moment leading up to his winning bid.
    "It was crazy. It just went nuts and people were bidding. And people come out of nowhere who had not bid at all. Suddenly it went from 25,000 dollars and with ten seconds to go, it went to 59,900 and I didn't know what to do. And I thought, 'Well, I'll try to second guess what they are doing.' And I hit the limit on the computer. I saw ten seconds were left, counted to five, hit it and made it.
    And the other lady who was bidding against me typed in 65,000 but she was one or two seconds too late," said Hayes.
    Hayes said he was saving for an African Safari retirement trip, and had 61,000 dollars (US) already in the kitty, when he heard about the sale of the tickets.
    "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you'd have to be insane to pay that kind of money to go on a Concorde, but you know what, it goes to charity, it's the last flight. It will be something our grandchildren, we have three right now, three boys," said Hayes.
    The auction, arranged by the NCB "Today" show ran on eBay Inc. from Oct. 13 to Monday.
    In addition to two seats on the supersonic jet's final scheduled flight from New York to London, the winning bid came with two nights in an unidentified "elegant" New York hotel, a chauffeured limousine to John F. Kennedy International Airport, ringside seats at the aircraft's decommissioning ceremony at Heathrow Airport, one night in a four-star London hotel and a return flight to New York on a standard British Airways flight, business class.
    The "Today" show estimated the package to be worth $25,000. British Airways was selling one-way seats for the final week of Concorde service for $7,154. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Boys & Girls Club of America, the Fred Rogers Fund, Reading is Fundamental and UNICEF.
    The Concorde's roar will be heard for the last time Friday, but residents of one New York City neighbourhood whose windows were rattled by the supersonic jet's mighty roar for over 20 years were not exactly wistful.
    Howa rd Beach, located in the borough of Queens, lives under right under the flight path of many aircraft landing and taking off from nearby John F. Kennedy airport.
    Complaints about the modern jet's noise have been made since it first began offering trans-Atlantic service with Howard Beach residents complaining about picture frames being rattled, car alarms being set off and pets being unsettled by blasts of jet noise.
    Area resident Liz Smith, walking down Cross Bay Boulevard, cheered the end to the supersonic jet age over Howard Beach: "That will be a pleasure to be able to sleep and not have to get woken up when your house shakes. I feel bad for people that have lot's of money who want to get to London quick or Paris, but I'll be able to sleep better."
    In 'La Nora,' and Italian restaurant in Howard Beach, there was mixed feelings about the passing of the Concorde.
    "The noise is so bad, every time it pass by, this whole restaurant shakes, the whole building trembles, and we know the Concorde is passing by," said bartender Eugene Nastro.
    "I feel bad. Why? Because a lot of people are going to lose their job," said owner Giovanni Gracioso.
    Out for a walk with their dog Roxie in a neighbourhood park Anne and John Sears were happy about the jets final voyage because it frightened the family pet. "The plane showed up and she jumped. She was so frightened. We had to hold her," said Anne Sears, adding that with the plane gone Roxie "is going to be very happy."
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