Middle_Seat

Posts: 559
From: Austin, TX. Not Plat, Gold or Silver, More Like Zinc. On track for AA 1M in Feb 2005.
Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-07-2002 11:54 AM
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Why doesn't some airline offer trans-Pacific Concord flights? It seems that would be the place where speed is most needed.

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Middle_Seat

wideman

Posts: 636
From: new england, usa; AA PLT, HHonors Gold, all else: Tin
Registered: Oct 2000 posted 03-07-2002 12:02 PM
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For one thing, the elegant Concorde would run out of fuel about halfway across and strike the Pacific a glancing blow.

flipside

Posts: 658
From: AA- EXP, BA GOLD, UA PremEx, NY - USA
Registered: May 2001 posted 03-07-2002 12:06 PM
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Well.. west coast US to Tokyo is a little more then 5k miles.

London/Paris to HK is @ 6k miles.

The Concorde range is only a little over 4k.

Flip

But what of Guam or other refueling areas along the way that would welcome such an airline. Also, i though that i have seen some around-the-world special events with that plane ($32,000 stuff) and surely it would have had to arrange some sort of a system. my guess is wit hlimited number of aircraft available and no clear future there was never any real work put into developing the system. But it may be because of landing restrictions in Asia? Gee, the Concorde landing at the old Hong Kong airport?

SIA, in conjunction with BA, offered Concorde service on its London-Bahrain-Singapore route between 1977 and 1980.

moondog... the london-singapore rte is mostly over land isn't it? did they fly subsonic? concordes used to come to dfw but had to go slow from the right coast.

Everything I've read suggests they flew mostly at supersonic speeds, and not without lots of objections. In fact, IIRC the SIN service only lasted for three flights in 1977 before returning in 1979-80.

From London to Singapore in the late 1970s Concorde went subsonic across France/Switzerland/Northern Italy, then supersonic down the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean. The Saudis allowed it to go supersonic over their Desert into and out of Bahrain where it refuelled. Then Supersonic across the Indian Ocean, round the bottom of India, to Singapore. London to Bahrain was actually the first Concorde scheduled service.

Air France simultaneously were operating Paris-Azores-Rio de Janeiro, over the South Atlantic. All these routes were given up because they couldn't get paying loads once the novelty had worn off.

25 years later it still comes round over my house in London about 9.00 pm some nights on its way home from New York, and we still go outside and look up at it when we hear it!

http://www.concordesst.com/pictures/gboads1.jpg