Latest BA "To Fly. To Serve" advert
 

Any thoughts?

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8656/...95c5e670_z.jpg

We can but dream :(

Fantastic shot! It would be a fantastic marketing campaign too! However, with Concorde no longer in service it seems out of place. It's a case of BA milking a popular icon. If they want to capitalise on some nostalgia they must bring back a modernised version of the face advert or the flying flag one.

What a shame she retired from service before I was in a position to be able to afford a Concorde flight. Now that I can afford to, I'd pay a small fortune for the opportunity.

I'd love to hear how many of you had the chance to fly with her. Any good stories?? Was it worth it?

I was lucky enough to have flown Concorde many times - to/from New York, Washington and Miami. I was even on one of the faster flights which crossed the Atlantic back from New York in a time 2hrs56mins. The fastest was another flight by Concorde at 2hrs 52 mins.

Flying in Concorde was like flying in a racing car - seats were like sports car seats, acceleration and noise were completely different from a normal airliner.

Food was very good and the flight was so short that it was one long meal service both ways.
Concorde flew much higher than other planes and you could see then trundling along below at times, you could also see the Northern lights and the earths curvature when flying in the winter time.
There were many celebrities on Concorde - every flight would have several famous people on it.
As Aztec flyer mentions, on every flight you got mementos - special LaCrosse pens, whisky flasks, key rings, diaries etc

Was it worth it - a return fare (R class) was around £7K which was a lot of money at the time. The main benefit was the time saving.

In the late nineties I had the privilege of travelling multiple times on Concorde. The time savings were fantastic (two full days in NY with one night away from base), the seat wasn't really that comfortable but the food was great.

By that stage it was starting to become less reliable and I experienced a few cancellations where they would bring the spare (fully ready to go) aircraft over from TBA, a few rejected take offs and a go around for good measure. The RTO actually felt quite dramatic....

One of the lovely things was the mementos they gave out. Each passenger got a small present from the crew and I still have most of them (Concorde branded key rings, steel luggage tags etc..)

Under 3 hours to New York is amazing. I can imagine that flying with her was genuinely fun, especially with the celebrities and VIPs on board.

Was it a lot more expensive than other business class tickets? Would it have been 2 times the price, or more?

There was a premium over FIRST.

My guess is that if Concorde was still operating we would see a small premium (perhaps GBP 250 each way) over F in the sale and perhaps five hundred Pounds or so each way over A and F at other times.

I wonder if we would ever have got concorde on a TP run ;)

When I worked as a travel agent I was offered Concorde to JFK and WT return for £500. It was just after the Air France crash when Concorde was a little jaded, and with a limited budget and lots of competing dreams, I decided not to do it. Now, I regret it!

Another time, when checking in for a F flight to SFO, I asked if our friends could join us in the CCR. I was informed by the check in agent that 'The Concorde has departed now, so it should be OK...' My point being not just Concorde but The Concorde...

I'm seriously jealous of everyone who got to fly in Concorde. I have a friend who used to be Concorde cabin crew - best job in the world she reckons.

Welcome to FT VintageWoolno. ^

What I wouldn't give to ride this just once! I don't normally overdress for flying, but for this I'd put on my Sunday finest :)

From my then home in Newbury, Berkshire I used to often see her flying overhead. Usually it was dead on the dot at just past 11 a.m heading for New York. (I think the London bound Concorde was about 7 p.m.). Of course you couldn't miss Concorde because of the noise that she used to make...but my, she was a beautiful sight in the perfectly blue sky.

Oh how I dreamed of one day being amongst those lucky passengers on board. :rolleyes:

[QUOTE

Oh how I dreamed of one day being amongst those lucky passengers on board. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Back in 1992 I wangled a trip on Concorde on a return flight from IAD. Strictly against company travel policy. Flew out on a 747 to IAD did a series of meetings and then waited for my trip back to another "unavoidable urgent meeting"...

Massive snowstorm hit the East Coast, had to spend two nights in Washington as HBO and worst of all no Concorde on the way back just a 767 BWI-LGW.

Ended up never having the "R" expereinece