Concorde

[Christopher Low 5,353]

I have just seen some interesting news regarding Concorde on teletext this morning. Apparently, the Transport Secretary is very keen to discuss the future of Concorde with Richard Branson, since he has offered to run the entire British Concorde fleet at a loss, simply for the prestige that the aircraft would bring to his Virgin Atlantic airline.Now, I know that some British guys here think that Concorde is a BA plane, and shouldn't be flown by any other British airline. However, I don't agree with that blinkered viewpoint. In my opinion, if there is ANY WAY that Concorde can be kept in commercial service, then I am in favour of it.What does everyone else think ? Careful....this subject is close to my heart (just like FU3) :-)Chris Low.

[Guest AndrewW]

I

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Andrew,What exactly do Airbus have to do with the Concorde fleet ?Let's have a bit of optimism, eh ? Or would everyone like all of the Concordes to be broken up, with all the parts sold off on eBay to the highest bidders ?Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Christopher Low 5,353]

I assume that Airbus are responsible for the current maintenance of the fleet.......is that correct ?Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Guest AndrewW]

Yes Chris, BAE Systems has offloaded some of the Concorde support to EADS. However, EADS has now been left with all of the problems that BAE was encountering. There are parts that are now quite hard to get hold of, as the manufactures that were around have simply vanished. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see any airline fly Concorde for up to a decade more - however like I have said, past events dating back to the Paris incident have meant that this is very unlikely. In order to breakeven and get the aircraft 'back into business' - the airlines need to bring back the second evening trip to NY. Without this, the business is just not there to support the Concorde. If BA leased a number of the fleet to Virgin, keeping the BA engineers and crews on - then maybe the aircraft might be in the skies for a little longer. This is the only way I can see the aircraft flying past October. Andrew

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Richard Branson has apparently stated that he would be prepared to operate the Concordes at a loss, simply for the prestige of having the aircraft, and also because he wants to see it remain in operational service.I wish him the very best of luck, and I think that this is something that deserves our full support. The alternatives just don't bear thinking about.Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Guest jonpoint]

Got this from a SA website ;)http://www.news24.com/News24/Finance/Compa...1346143,00.htmlSorry, you'll have to cut 'n' paste the link - it's too long!Jon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************