How difficult was it to get Concorde awards in 2002/2003
Jan 6, 2020, 9:39 am
#17
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Washington, DC, Chapel Hill, NC (RDU)
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I know I spent about 45 minutes in the cockpit of a KL 777 as we crossed the Mediterranean and north Africa flying AMS-NBO.
Jan 6, 2020, 9:49 am
#18
Join Date: Oct 2016
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Posts: 253
Count me as part of the "biggest regret of my travel life" continent, as I would have had enough miles to do this and I just didn't. I'd probably be willing to pay for a Concorde flight today if an airline were ever to bring one back.
Jan 6, 2020, 10:51 am
#19
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
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Posts: 1,573
Ahh yes, the cockpit visits.
This pic was taken on our eastbound trip, just shortly after starting descent.
Even knowing what the Concorde was all about, hearing the power being reduced surprised me. We had barely finished the meal so I thought we were diverting into Greenland or somewhere with a mechanical.
Captain then announced we were approaching the coast of France so had to slow down to subsonic speed. The slower speed meant we had to descend into thicker air. We were descending from 50,000 to 36,000, would cruise at 36 for about 10 minutes then descend for landing.
This pic was taken on our eastbound trip, just shortly after starting descent.
Even knowing what the Concorde was all about, hearing the power being reduced surprised me. We had barely finished the meal so I thought we were diverting into Greenland or somewhere with a mechanical.
Captain then announced we were approaching the coast of France so had to slow down to subsonic speed. The slower speed meant we had to descend into thicker air. We were descending from 50,000 to 36,000, would cruise at 36 for about 10 minutes then descend for landing.
Jan 6, 2020, 11:29 am
#20
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DTW
Programs: Alaska, Delta, Southwest
Posts: 1,663
I’m not sure if this helps but I dug up the seat maps from my YUL-CDG trip in May 2003, and first, business, and coach were branded L’Espace Premiere, L’Espace Affaires, and Tempo, respectively. I’m thinking this was the old branding?
Jan 6, 2020, 1:29 pm
#22
Join Date: May 2001
Location: RDM
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I couldn't get a roundtrip and flew PDX-LAX-CDG in first on a 747 for 100,000 miles in 2003. Flew the Concorde two days later from CDG-JFK with a connection back to PDX.
Almost missed my flight from Paris due to a transit strike. No cabs and ended up taking an express bus to the airport and made it with 10 minutes to spare. I asked the driver which terminal for the Concorde and he laughed and said no one flying the Concorde had ever taken his bus!!!
Most amazing aviation experience ever. The crew was hustling to finish the meal service before we landed.
Almost missed my flight from Paris due to a transit strike. No cabs and ended up taking an express bus to the airport and made it with 10 minutes to spare. I asked the driver which terminal for the Concorde and he laughed and said no one flying the Concorde had ever taken his bus!!!
Most amazing aviation experience ever. The crew was hustling to finish the meal service before we landed.
Jan 6, 2020, 1:39 pm
#23
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,031
I think I know why search didn't reveal anything. There's a separate pre-World Perks merger Delta forum on flyertalk.com
There's one post about only 34 seats occupied but no award seats. Flew Concorde Today. No award seats open. 34 out of 92 seats occupied
Unclear if one way awards were available. There's a thread about flying Concorde one way and AF F class the other way.
Why AF has outbound Cocorde award seats but nothing to return?
Trip report AF Concorde Trip Report
There's one post about only 34 seats occupied but no award seats. Flew Concorde Today. No award seats open. 34 out of 92 seats occupied
Unclear if one way awards were available. There's a thread about flying Concorde one way and AF F class the other way.
Why AF has outbound Cocorde award seats but nothing to return?
Trip report AF Concorde Trip Report
Jan 6, 2020, 6:04 pm
#25
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,031
Jan 6, 2020, 7:12 pm
#26
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: PNS
Programs: DL FO, UA, AA
Posts: 700
Awesome thread. In the mid to late 80's my father took me over to IND where the Concorde was landing. I think it was a marketing type of thing with the Concorde stopping at different cities across the US. It was pretty awesome as a kid. Never even thought for one second that you could use miles/points for a flight on Concorde so never came to my mind beginning of the 2000's. All I remember as a kid was my dad telling me that it costs $10k each way to fly on it.
Last edited by AeRoSpaceman; Jan 6, 2020 at 7:13 pm Reason: grammar
Jan 6, 2020, 8:58 pm
#27
formerly dave h.
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Jan 6, 2020, 10:05 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: PNS
Programs: DL FO, UA, AA
Posts: 700
and then after it was announced they were going out of service, a travel agent friend told me the price dropped to $3k each way, something about getting more people to experience it before it was gone. i had the $3k, and the week before i was going to buy the ticket i got a lay-off notice at work. bye-bye Concorde
Jan 7, 2020, 12:01 pm
#29
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Utah
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 41
Almost missed my flight from Paris due to a transit strike. No cabs and ended up taking an express bus to the airport and made it with 10 minutes to spare. I asked the driver which terminal for the Concorde and he laughed and said no one flying the Concorde had ever taken his bus!!!
Jan 7, 2020, 6:28 pm
#30
Join Date: Dec 2008
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and then after it was announced they were going out of service, a travel agent friend told me the price dropped to $3k each way, something about getting more people to experience it before it was gone. i had the $3k, and the week before i was going to buy the ticket i got a lay-off notice at work. bye-bye Concorde
My wife and I flew Singapore suites class on the a380 and we couldn’t find the check in at the airport in Singapore. Turns out there’s a separate driveway that drops you off at the suites checkin not connected to the main area. We arrived via subway. We had 6 horrified agents running across the driveway to carry our 2 bags. 😂