TravellerFrequently

The following article on BBC News is interesting with nostalgic stories of Concorde.

I was lucky enough to fly on it once.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42024835

DorsetKnob

I flew it on a return to New York. I was looking to take my son away shortly after I had split from my wife. I had an amex 2-4-1 so rang up the executive club & asked could I use it on any flight, to which they said yes, so asked if that included Concorde, they said of course sir. So promptly booked self & 6 year old a return, leaving Friday morning, returning Sunday. I remember the lady who did the booking saying "your son will love it, hope you have a wonderful time"

Come the day of departure & I simply tell my son we are going out. We arrive at Heathrow, go to check in & the girl at check asks me in a hushed voice if my son knows he is going on Concorde, which he doesn;t. So she says nothing. We go through to the Concorde lounge & Concorde is sat there waiting. Son still doesn't quite realize what is going on, until he boards!! We had a great weekend in New York & hope he has fond memories of it.

Quite a plane & turned heads even amongst those that saw it every day.

steadman

I was lucky enough to fly Concorde a few times. One of them was an Expedia promotional ticket (other TA's may have been available!) that went on sale in the late part of 2002 before the announcement of the retirement of the fleet - as I remember it was the unbelievable price of 1630 GBP return.

I also think it was supposed to be one way only with the return in CW but on booking there was an option with both ways in R for about 3 GBP more - back in the day where you did not fear a mistake fare might be cancelled!

Additionally one of my more regular CW trips was upgraded to Concorde in December 2002 and I found myself a row behind Roger Waters. Oh, and I did have a chat to him as we were both waiting at baggage reclaim alone - he was in NYC working on an opera if memory services me correct.

Finally I also used a 241 and took my mother to New York on a F-out/R-rtn in the Summer of 2003 after realising it would all be over by the end of the year. Of course this was before you were hit hard for taxes and charges - I may be wrong here but I am sure I had to pay only about 150-200 for both of us.

There is a huge resource across the net for remembering the aircraft - .I think TravelScholar's trip report on here is absolutely brilliant.

My own personal thoughts :

The aircraft was far, far smaller than pictures suggest - Concorde is a clever optical illusion, like a reverse TARDIS - and every time I walked up to and into the aircraft I was "surprised". Maybe it was to do with the idea that you boarded it from the lounge and close-up it's large wing span and tiny windows sort of confused the brain a little. I'm sure if a 737 was next to it the illusion would be shattered.

It was a strange feeling to spend a few hours in that unique otherworldy situation at speeds that are difficult to comprehend, effectively at an altitude higher than any non-astronaut and then be dumped into the very real World of JFK or LHR. Albeit slightly merry.

I had an armful of gifts given to me over those flights and was surprised that some people left them in the seats on disembarking as if they were old newspapers.

The takeoff from JFK was exhilarating - a feeling of being fired at the Manhattan skyline before a very sharp, very smooth turn off to the Atlantic - or that's how I remember them.

Although Row 1 was the dream, there had to be a certain amount of acceptance that you will be spending a lot of time with excited people taking photographs of the MACH display. I would guess that 1D was the premier/Premier seat held for VIPs and not 1A.

Concorde Lounge at T4 was a unique wonderful experience. Or maybe I just like beige and mahogany.

BA was never really the same after it's retirement - Concorde gave it a unique cache. They marketed it really well (AF not so well, or so it seemed) as if they were truly proud of it. I remember how devastated the pilots were during the final cockpit visit. One of them sad to be "dropping down to Boeings".

Go read TravelScholar's trip report - it's fantastic.

mikeyfly

In the late 90s / early 2000s the BA News used to do special one way Jumbo one way Concorde for Ł699.00

I really regret never jumping on these... couldn't afford at the time, but as soon as the end of service was announced they vanished

steadman

Wow - and there's me thinking I got a great deal!

ttay

I never travelled on Concorde but as a child I lived under the flight path and used to marvel at the sight of it while playing in the garden. My dad knew somebody who worked at Waterside and had been on the last ever flight. Before one of our flights from LHR we went to Waterside early to meet my dad's friend and he gave me a toy Concorde and some cutlery from the last flight. My dad got a framed picture of the aircraft (a commemorative piece for the last flight) which now hangs in the hall of our family home. I often look at that picture as it reminds me that Concorde is one of the main reasons that I have always loved air travel. There is also a sense of sadness when I look at the picture because it seems likely that we will not experience a similar form of travel ever again and are far more likely to leapfrog to something like what has been proposed by SpaceX in the last few days (anywhere in the world in ~30 mins while effectively strapped to a rocket - not much scope for luxury/romance there).

arkellvspressdram

Never flew it, a bit like seeing the beastie boys live it will have to wait for the next life. I did tour the one sat in New York which is sat next to the retired aircraft carrier, Intrepid. It's a reasonable tour if you want to check it out tho you spend most of your time going "I can't believe how small it is". Tour guide said an inflation adjusted price for one way LHR - JFK would be in the region of $20k these days what with the rise in fuel prices, does that sound realistic?

cruisr

I flew Concorde on a RT from JFK/BGI. What an experience. Unforgettable even though it was only about 2 hours each way. Use to go to the beach under the JFK flight path and could see all the flights on approach. The one that everybody looked up to watch was the Concorde.

PETER01

It's a pity QR didn't have a Concorde as it would have been much better than BA's I think.

More seriously and back on topic I never flew on Concorde which is a regret but I did see if flying a few times including from Windsor. Quite spectacular!

AlwaysonBA663

Never flew it but heard it most mornings in the year before the 2001 crash, it flew over my university around 11am and drowned the sound of the lecturer

also remember it flying directly over me in the late 1980s at the adventure playground by Windsor Safari Park. I remember looking up and being amazed!

I must try and get to all of the ‘grounded’ display Concordes as a personal challenge