Closest to Heaven: AF Concorde
 

“Never has such a beautiful object been designed and built by man. This aircraft is not going to stop, because it continues to live on in the human imagination.”

-- Jean-Cyril Spinetta
-- Chairman, Air France

Flying on Concorde is the closest you can come, in this life, to heaven. In my view, civil aviation is one of the great triumphs of mankind and Concorde is without a doubt its pinnacle. Concorde may not have been profitable, but it is both a great technological triumph and a work of great beauty, comparable to Michelangelo’s David or Saint Chapelle or Falling Water.

One of my early memories dates from 1971, when Concorde spent a month in Johannesburg, where I grew up. Every time we heard its song, we’d all run out of class to watch it describe circles in the Highveld sky. Since then I had an opportunity to fly on BA’s, in 1998, and I’ve seen it from time to time at various airports. And I love it, so I was devastated to hear that it was being grounded forever. I’m not a historian, so I can’t say this with certainty, but I think this may be the first time in human history that we have taken a giant step backwards. In these times of war and pestilence, of conflict and poverty, Concorde is a reminder of the great things we can achieve, and of what a wonderful planet we inhabit.

When I heard the announcement, I immediately checked with BA to try to arrange another trip. There was zero avail, so I called Delta, who offered me a seat on AF, leaving that evening. I took it. The flight brought a wealth of emotions – exhilaration, ecstasy, wonder and joy. But at the same time I was fighting back tears most of the way across, and a few escaped after I deplaned in New York. Everything about the trip was superb – the aircraft, the crew (particularly on the outbound, the finest I’ve ever had), the food and drink and even the other passengers. While I wouldn’t equate the Concorde to a human being, the trip was like being with a dying loved one, as I struggled to maximize the enjoyment – and memory – of every moment.

AF001 JFK-CDG APRIL 11, 2003

The experience began when my limo (well, my father’s Honda) dropped me at JFK’s Terminal One at 6:30, to check in for the 8:00 a.m. AF001. The terminal was all but deserted, although four check-in desks were open for the flight. I was quickly checked in, during which the agent affixed a Concorde tag to my bag, gave me a special Concorde CD (“Orchestral Works of Leonard Bernstein”) and directed me to the lounge. Before going there I went to the gate to admire the beauty of F-BTSD, which was to carry me both ways. The lounge had a lavish breakfast buffet, along with a variety of drinks, reading matter etc. A number of display cabinets contained models of Air France aircraft – all now out of service except one, Concorde. A sad omen. There was also a single computer, with a strange French keyboard.

Boarding was called at 7:30. I was first to respond, although a few passengers had preboarded. There were a lot of flight attendants (I think 8) and each of them greeted me personally. One – who was to be my primary attendant during the flight – escorted me to seat 18A. She spoke with me briefly, starting with “have you flown Concorde before?” I realized that she asked all passengers this, and I think used the response to personalize the service – I discussed my enthusiasm for Concorde, and thereafter she and other crew members shared their love for the aircraft with me and ensured I enjoyed every aspect of the experience. The business passenger across from me received much less attention, which she clearly preferred. Throughout the crew were kind, cheerful, friendly, polite and solicitous. I can’t say enough about them. As I settled down, she brought me a technical information booklet and relieved me of my jacket. I gazed idly outside the window, where a “Mach II maintenance” van was parked.

Much has been said about the interior of Concorde. It is, as evident from the exterior, very long and narrow, with a low ceiling. There are two cabins – on Air France, the front cabin has 10 rows and the rear cabin 13, four abreast. Between them is a section with a lav on either side, some storage and display space and the emergency exits. This section was curtained off at both ends during flight. There was also one lav forward, with a galley at the rear. While the interior is tight, the seats are very comfortable – slightly narrower than (U.S.) domestic F seats, with good pitch. Everything is very well-designed – the tray tables, for example, fold up from below on a complicated mechanism. Just a touch releases them to restow. The windows are tiny – smaller than a hand on the outside, and the overhead panels – complete with miniature air vents – are similarly diminutive. The overhead bins are very elegant, with the latches hidden above. Clearly, a great deal of care had gone into the interior design.

At 7:55 the engines were started and ground power was disconnected. We pushed back three minutes later and began a very slow taxi. We then stopped for a while, presumably while checklists were completed or permission awaited. An incoming JAL 744 waited for us – and I realized that everyone on it was probably watching us, as were the rampers and I’m sure anyone who got a glimpse of the beautiful bird. Whenever I’ve been in airports, or on other aircraft, heads have turned when Concorde came by – it’s the only aircraft, I think, that everyone can recognize.

At 8:18, finally, we took runway 13R. My heart was beating faster than Sierra Delta’s Olympus engines as the takeoff roll began at 8:19:27. The roll is quite unusual – not a huge surge of power from brake release as in a 757 and as you might expect. Instead, it starts fairly slowly and then accelerates – but the acceleration continues and continues, pressing the passengers into their seats. The aircraft assumes a nose-up pitch almost immediately, and it took just 41 seconds for us to take to the air. 37 seconds later the power eased notably, as the afterburners were shut off for noise abatement. 36 seconds later it was easy to feel them come back on as we began our acceleration to supersonic speed. Unfortunately, the machmeter in the rear cabin wasn’t working, but they announced that we should break the sound barrier 10 minutes after takeoff at 33,000 feet.

At 8:27 there was a ping and the cabin crew went to work, bringing hot towels. At 8:43 the seatbelt sign was turned off, and the flight attendants came around with menus – which had also been displayed in the lounge – and with a tray of juices (orange, grapefruit and cranberry). The tray tables were set, by hand and without trays. Typically of the careful service, the flight attendants were careful to place the glasses with the seahorse logo facing the passenger. The items were all stylish, but not marked with the Concorde logo. Most interestingly, the silverware (with plastic knives) was wrapped in a napkin/serviette and then in a tube of corrugated cardboard. Quite attractive. The food and drink were superb, and I can’t imagine that there had been any cutbacks.

Brunch à la Carte

POUR PATIENTER

Fresh fruit served in a melon timbale

CHOICE OF HOT OR COLD DISHES

CHEF’S SPECIAL
Scrambled eggs served with sautéed duck foie gras, cépe mushroom and apple with celery purée

VEGETARIAN HOTPOT
Layered truffles, artichoke and potatoes, oven-roasted baby vegetables, fennel and truffle emulsion with balsamic vinegar

GOURMET PLATTER
Medallion of foie gras and onion compote, accompanied by fresh salad and pansy garnish*

*edible flower

SEAFOOD PLATTER
Maine lobster, sautéed sea scallop with olive oil, jumbo prawn with Cajun spices, baby artichokes with herbes de Provence

SELECTION OF FRENCH REGIONAL CHEESES

PETITS FOURS
Vanilla Macaroon, chocolate praline, raspberry and blueberry tartlet

CHAMPAGNE CUVEÉ SPÉCIALE

Dom Pérignon 1993

BORDEAUX BLANC LICOREAUX

Sauternes 1er Cru Classé 1995
Château Suduiraut

BOURGOGNE BLANC

Chablis 1er Cru <<Beauroy>> 1999
Maison Chartron et Trébuchet

BOURGOGNE ROUGE

Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru 2000
Maison Remoissenet

BORDEAUX ROUGE

Saint Émilion Grand Cru Classé 1997
Château Faurie de Souchard

These wines have been selected for you by Phillipe Faure-Brac, 1992 world champion wine steward.

LES PAINS ET VIENNOISERIES

Mini baguette
Walnut Bread
Cranberry Bread
French bakery selection
Preserves. Honey, yogurt

Coffee, decaffeinated coffee, choice of teas, herbal teas, hot chocolate

Freshly squeezed fruit juice

At the end of your supersonic flight, our cabin crew will be please to serve you caviar with a glass of “Cuveé Spéciale” champagne to welcome you to Paris.

I started with the champagne, which I had with the fruit course. I didn’t even know what a “timbale” was; it turned out to be a ring of canteloupe. Inside were fruits cut into tiny pieces – I detected melon, mango, orange and strawberry, all topped with a mint leaf and a blackberry. For the main course, I had the chef’s special. The eggs were fairly normal, as – I suppose – was the foie gras, which was on slivers of toast, and the mushroom. The apple was hollowed out and filled with the purée. The traveler across the aisle from me had the vegetarian hotpot, which looked excellent.

The flight attendant then brought me the four cheeses, which I’m too ignorant to identify (one was brie), and which came with a sort of salty rice cracker (and the bread basket again). I was about to ask for more champagne when she suggested – perhaps sensing I was about to commit a faux pas – that I try the Bordeaux with it. It was excellent. With the petits fours, she suggested the Sauterne. I accepted, of course, joking that I don’t normally have that many wines before 10 a.m. She flawlessly replied “Sir, you are aboard Concorde (it sounds so good with a French accent). You should try everything. These are suberb wines that have been very carefully selected.” She did seem slightly surprised that I requested coffee before I’d had my petits fours, but she brought it immediately. Each bottle of wine was presented for approval (I’m not sure what would have happened had I disapproved; in any case they obviously knew vastly more about wine than I). In fact, when I requested water, even that bottle (Evian) was presented for my approval.

The dinner items were cleared away, and the boutique items were displayed on a silver tray, decorated with a purple flower (there were flowers in a few places in the cabin and on all the trays – even those used to clear away dishes). The brochure had been in the seat pocket, along with the inflight music guide, the Air France magazine and Air France Madame, a women’s magazine.

La Boutique

24, Fauborg Hermès (perfume, I think)
Crystal Bottle 50 ml Extrait. Limited edition engraved “Concorde”.

Carré Hermès (scarf)
100% pure silk.

Cravate Hermès (ties)
100% pure silk.

Montre geométrie, St Dupont (watch)
Swiss made, steel case and bracelet.
Sapphire Crystal, quartz movement and waterproof up to 30m.

Briquet Urban, St Dupont (lighter)
Very graphic, chequered geometric pattern, palladium plating.

Roller Concorde St Dupont
Exclusive version of the prestigious range designed for Concorde. Limited series in Chinese black laquer and palladium, interchangeable rollerball/ball-point pencil.

Pendulette Vega, Baccarat (clock)
Vega, named after a star, a luxury setting of crystalline perfection and contemporary design.

Waterman Sèrénité
Originality and differentiation with this roller pen.
Black body and attributes in mat silver.

Foulard Concorde
Pure silk scarf designed for Concorde by Jean Boggio. (this featured multicoloured Concordes, the same design as the menu cover)

Pedulette Edouard Rambaud
Small Edouard Rambaud clock.
Double face, exclusive for Concorde.

Etiquette baggage Concorde
Silver plated luggage label holder
Exclusive for Air France.

Maquette Concorde
Injection-molded model, easy snap-together.

Pin’s Concorde
Faithful reproduction of the aircraft in solid silver.

I bought the luggage tag – which weighs about as much as my bag. On the return, I bought the model and pin as well. The selection was much more limited than the regular onboard sales (which were in the magazine) – interestingly, the three common items (the scarf, ties and model) were slightly cheaper on Concorde than mainline. Purchases were delivered slightly later in bags – in another demonstration of the crew’s attentiveness, when I took out the tag slightly later to examine it, the flight attendant instantly appeared to ask if it were alright and I were satisfied.

The sales over, I went for a walk. I counted the pax – a mere 24 – and noted that a couple were sleeping. Perhaps this was their way of showing that even Concorde wasn’t special to them – or perhaps they were just tired. But I wanted to shake them awake. I hope I never become so blasé that I could sleep through an experience like Concorde. I noticed that the midships lav area was very warm, perhaps why the curtains were drawn. The windows, too, were hot to the touch by about 9:30, transmitting the friction generated by our great speed. A tray of water had been laid out in the cabin, along with a basket of chocolate-coated almonds. Returning to my seat, I gazed out of the window at the deep blue sky, far darker than the familiar pale blue I could see near the horizon. They say that you can see the curvature of the earth from Concorde, but I frankly didn’t see it – perhaps because of haze near the earth’s surface. I listened for awhile to the audio system, which had seven channels, although it was too loud to listen to without the noise cancellation and it seemed like a waste to deaden the Concorde’s song. Reflecting my strong emotions, I decided to listen to opera – even though I don’t much like it. Everything else seemed too mundane.

All good things must come to an end, at 10:54 they announced that we had just one more hour to go and that it was time for champagne and caviar. A very noticeable descent began five minutes later, shortly after which the table was again set. The Dom Perignon was served again, along with a 30g tin of Caviar House Iranian Osietra caviar, with wafers, a lemon wedge and cream – the last incongruously in a plastic container. To scoop the caviar, we were provided the requisite mother-of-pearl spoon.

At 11:16 we crossed the French coast near Cherbourg, and at 11:24 there was another marked deceleration with the aircraft at a very steep nose-down pitch. At 11:30 we made a sharp right hand turn, after which the flight attendant came back to ask how I had enjoyed my flight and to chat once more about the wonderful aircraft. At 11:37 Captain Ramon announced ten minutes to landing, which he apologized would be five minutes late. Three minutes later the crew were signaled and at 11:44 he announced that Paris was visible off the right of the aircraft. Moments later the gear came down and at 11:47:08 we touched down. The engines spooled up powerfully once more, for about 30 seconds of reverse thrust. At 11:57 – 5:57 p.m. local time – we arrived at the gate.

Flight time had been 3 hours and 27 minutes – to the second – of which 2:36 was supersonic, at 60,000 feet. The flight attendants brought us our coats and even our bags from the overheads, and we soon deboarded into a crowded, mundane CDG. Normally I would have been excitedly spotting, but spotting after Concorde is like reviewing the local high school art competition after leaving the Sistine Chapel.

AF002 CDG-JFK APRIL 13, 2003

The return flight was scheduled at 10:30; I arrived at the airport unexpectedly early, at about 8:20. Concorde had its own checkin area, where I was efficiently processed. The lounge had a nice view of the ramp, so I headed directly there. Again, there was a large breakfast buffet and a wide assortment of drinks. I watched as Sierra Delta was towed to the gate – from the front you could see the marked downward camber of the wingtips, which isn’t evident in most pictures or models. While we were waiting in the lounge, the purser came by to introduce himself individually to each passenger and to welcome us. Boarding began at about 10, directly from the lounge. Interestingly, at the gate each of us had our bags hand-searched, we were wanded and had our shoes examined. We then boarded and I took my assigned 9A after stowing my bag and surrendering my jacket. For some reason passengers were concentrated at the rear of the first cabin, and someone took the seat next to mine. When the door closed, I moved up to 7A for more space and a better view of the machmeter (which was low on the bulkhead and – unlike on BA – gave only mach readings, not altitude). There was a child in 8A, but he was fairly well-behaved.

At 10:22, the engines were started, and we pushed back 3 minutes later. Just before 10:31 we began our taxi, faster this time, and we took runway 08 at 10:35:38. At 10:36:18 the brakes were released and we again enjoyed the wonderful sustained acceleration before taking to the air after 39 seconds. 31 seconds later, the afterburners were shut down and about a minute after that we began a long left turn, which yielded a great view of the airport and then of the city of Paris. At 10:49 Captain Chatelain announced that we would cross the coast near Le Havre, at which time we would go supersonic. He told us that we could expect the afterburners again in two minutes. They kicked on at 10:51:10, with us at Mach 0.94. Exactly one minute later we reached Mach 1 (the machmeter was working), although it still took another 80 seconds for us to cross the coast, by my estimation. The machmeter’s tick from 0.99 to 1.00 was the only way to know we’d crossed the sound barrier – really amazing when you consider how difficult it was to break it the first time, not that long before Concorde was conceived.

At 10:58 service began with the hot towels, and at 11:02:15 the seat belt sign came off, at mach 1.7, when the afterburners shut down. This time the caviar and champagne came first, although the service was slightly different – there was toast and a pancake rather than wafers, and no tablecloth. There was another slight surge of power and at 11:10 we reached mach 1.9, on our way to 2.01. On this flight, lunch was served.

DÉJENEUR

APÉRITIF CAVIAR

Déjeuner

CHOICE OF HORS D’OEVRE

Lobster served with potato salad
Duck foie gras with figs and chutney

FRESH GARDEN SALAD

CHOICE OF HOT DISHES

Pan-seared filet of beef with vegetable shavings served with celery purée
Traditional blanquette of brill
Vegetable brochettes served on a bed of artichoke bottoms and tomatoes

A SELECTION OF FRENCH CHEESES

DESSERT DUET

Seasonal Fruit Timbale
Petits fours – miniature coffee éclair, lemon tartlet, apple with chocolate

COFFEE TEA BRANDIES LIQUERS

The wines were the same as on the outbound; there was no bread/pastry list although the selection was similar.

AF002

The salad was basically greens, with two bottles of Longevo dressing – one oil and vinegar, the other lemon oil, which I had. For the main course, I had the brill, which was served in a creamy sauce with tiny whole onions and mushrooms. With a little bit of salt, it was delicious. A small card was placed on the tray explaining the cheeses – they were Coulommiers from Ile de France, Roquefort AOC from Rouerge and Crottin de chavignol from Berry. The timbale had larger pieces of strawberry, mango and papaya, topped with tart redcurrants.

There was a bit of a party atmosphere on this flight. A number of people were taking pictures – many of them repeat customers – and I had a very interesting conversation with the gentleman across the aisle, an exceptionally well-travelled Frenchman. He mentioned that a famous architect was on the flight and – sure enough – moments later the world’s leading living architect, I.M. Pei, walked down the aisle. When I got up myself, I introduced myself to him and we chatted briefly. He was extraordinarily gracious and charming. I again counted the passengers – 22. Again there were inflight sales; this time when the goods were delivered they also gave me a personalized certificate signed by Captain Chatelain. I had an opportunity to speak to him about flying Concorde – he noted that while in a fighter you could fly supersonically for 15-20 minutes, in Concorde you could do so for hours. I asked him what he would fly next, and he said that nothing could follow Concorde. He had chosen retirement instead.

At 1:25 he announced the beginning of our descent, and we rapidly began to lose speed. By 1:42 we were subsonic again. At 1:56 the seatbelt sign came on and three minutes later I saw the coast, with our speed down to mach 0.62. At 2:05:34 the gear came down and the captain announced a view of Manhattan. At 2:07:25 the machmeter gave its last reading – 0.28 – and 18 seconds later we landed on runway 4R, followed by 32 seconds of reverse thrust. Our bags and coats were brought to us and soon we were back at Terminal One.

Flying time had been 3 hours and 31 minutes (they announced, I timed 3:32), with 2:51 supersonic. No one was in a hurry to deplane, but eventually we did, one by one. The passageway to immigration had a good view of the aircraft and a number of the passengers were gathered there, taking pictures and gazing at the aircraft. I lingered for a few minutes, turned, and left. It was 8:15 local time – more than two hours before we left. It was over. At 10:40 I saw an Air France 777 taxi in – it was flight 22, which had left Paris more than two hours before us. The future.

F-BTSD

Sierra Delta, a Concorde model 101 bearing serial number 213, first flew from Toulouse on June 26, 1978. On September 14th her registration was switched from F-WJAM to F-BTSD and four days later she was leased to Air France. She briefly carried the U.S. registration N94SD for Air France/Braniff joint service and she was purchased by Air France on October 23rd, 1980.

F-BTSD holds the record for the fastest flight around the world in both directions. On October 12th-13th 1992, she flew Lisbon-Santo Domingo-Acapulco-Honolulu-Guam-Bangkok-Bahrain-Lisbon in 32 hours, 49 minutes and 3 seconds, and on August 15th-16th 1995 she flew JFK-Toulouse-Dubai-Bangkok-Guam-Honolulu-Acapulco-JFK in 31 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds.

GREAT REPORT!!! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Great report. I have taken the BA Concorde flight from JFK-LHR and we did not have the second meal....(the caviar and champagne).. The service on AF seems so much more classy

It's trip reports like this that will make you tear up! Wow just awesome....hope I can still get my chance at this experience.

What a beautifully written trip report! Thank you.

Wonderful report! It really is very sad to see them go. Buster and I were lucky enough to fly Concorde on BA earlier this year. While at CDG in Paris in January we admired an AF Concorde and thought "someday." Your report is as close as we will come to that experience. Thank you.

Phenomenal report as always Alpha Golf! Thanks for contributing.

its a real pity they are decommisioning this bird - i hope Virgin are succesfull in keeping it flying for future generations

Thanks for a great trip report. It is generous of you to share your experience of this wonderful aeroplane. It is a shame that the future is a mundane world of widebody twins.

Superb report! Kudos to you for this piece of excellence... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


Blessings...

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Patrick A. Inouye, CMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful emotional experience with us.

Thanks for taking the time to share your memories and experiences in the form of this superb report.

Thanks for the great trip report. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif