The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde was a joint French and British supersonic airliner, one of just two to enter airline service. First flying on 2 March 1969, it entered service on 21 January 1976 with Air France and British Airways.
Quite an extended time between first flight and delivery was due to refinement of the design plus testing. It is said that Concorde was the most tested passenger airliner ever, as it had to be certified safe in the supersonic flight regime.
Concorde Video
Following on from the last video about the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, this time we look at a Concorde video. This great film was produced by the British Airways Film Unit in 1976, runs for 23 minutes and is called Transatlantic Supersonic.
This takes you through an entire journey on Concorde, through the eyes of some typical passengers. I quite liked the maps showing how fast it is to get from the Middle East and Europe to various places in the USA. You see everything in this video, including private transfers between connecting flights at London Heathrow.
Is that Dom Pérignon they’re serving on board? Sure looks like it! Seeing the original cabin style and on board service and comparing that to today shows that we have it pretty good. The food portions come across as a little basic, I thought.
The narrator says, “There’s plenty of stowage space for briefcases and jackets” which is true. However those overhead lockers would not cope with today’s very large cabin bags. At the end you see the planned routes – New York in 3.5 hours, Melbourne in 13.5 hours and Tokyo in 8 hours. Of course, only New York ended up actually being served.
One More Concorde Video
Here’s another Concorde video for you, which makes for a neat bookend. This was also produced by British Airways, runs for almost 6 minutes and was produced when Concorde was retired in 2003.
This one contains some great voice over from people who flew on Concorde, as well as a gorgeous selection of footage. Well worth having a look at!
Overall Thoughts
Air France flew their last Concorde service on 30 May 2003, with British Airways following on 24 October 2003. The very last flight of the aircraft ever was when G-BOAF, fittingly the last Concorde ever built, landed at Filton Airport on 26 November 2003.
I hope you are enjoying Concorde week with me. If you’ve just popped in, the first article is here, the second one on where all the Concorde’s are now is here, while yesterday’s article about Braniff operating Concorde in the USA is here.
What did you think of the Concorde video presented in this article? Have you any thoughts on them? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image from Airbus Archive via ConcordeSST.
Closest I will ever get to flying in a fighter. complete with aborted first takeoff attempt. Actually managed to score the LHR JFK sector on points as I was a BA gold at the time. You could really see the curvature of the earth and the space between the two cabins, where insulation was minimal, was actually hot from the friction heating.
I would have been quite happy to have an aborted take off attempt in Concorde. That would be pretty cool – probably not best for the nervous flyers though! Really nice you did it on points, I wish I had. It would have been some experience what with the heating from the friction. I bet it’s a great memory! Thanks for the comment.
I visited the Concorde at the Aeroscopia Museum in TLS on 02 March when I visited some friends from Uni. As it was 50 years since the first flight we were allowed to enter the cockpit. I’m sure you would have enjoyed that Trent!
I’m sure I would have thoroughly enjoyed it – if only I had some friends like that, imagine the good times I could be having! Sounds like a nice day out at Aeroscopia! 🙂
The best I can say is that once I was sitting in a window seat and in the next gate was a Concorde operated by BA. That and I’ve been inside a Concorde in a museum in Seattle as well as a Concorde prototype (no seats installed) in Duxford, England between London and Cambridge.
For some reason, I much prefer to visit Concorde with a cabin fit out inside. The test ones don’t do it for me nearly as much. Nice that you’ve visited two of them though, that’s always a good thing. I’m pleased most are in museums, so people in the future will at least get to check out what it is like on the ground.
It was rather amazing to leave London at 10am and arrive in New York at 9:40am. And yes, it was narrower than the DC 9 and probably most the commuter jets now flying 2×2. The aircraft was 2 cabins of 48, each row 2×2 with a “machometer” on the bulkhead wall relaying your speed in relation to the speed of sound.
I have always thought the Machmetre was a really nice touch. I know that British Airways evolved it even further so the newer display showed altitude and a bunch of other things. Arriving before you leave was definitely touted as part of the service going westbound across the Atlantic. Great aircraft and thanks for the comment!
Ignoring the fact that the title of the article makes me feel old beyond my years (I’m not even 50 yet!) it also reminds me of the time in the 90s that I earned and used 110,000 BA points – long before Avíos was even a thought – on a one-way flight on Concorde, return in J as I wanted a “once in a lifetime” experience. A year later, I got a job which flew me on her twice.
A pretty fantastic way to get into the points and miles game long before it was a “thing!”
That sounds like such a bargain, 110,000 BA points to fly Concorde. I would have done exactly as you did, to do it as a “once in a lifetime” experience. Hilarious that you then got a job that flew you on Concorde twice – what are the chances? Even so, three Concorde flights, really nice! Thanks for the comment!
I was a passenger on Concorde operated by Air France during its final week of service.
One day, I will post an article — and, hopefully, a video — of my experience at The Gate.
That must have been some experience! You really should share it, I’m sure a lot of people would quite like to read about and see that. Make sure you let me know if you do!
I am letting you know, as here is the trip report of my experience as a passenger aboard Concorde: https://thegatewithbriancohen.com/concorde-trip-report-20-year-anniversary/
I am delighted you remembered me! Just finished reading and watching the video – I thoroughly enjoyed it. Naturally, very jealous too! How lucky you did not make a booking for later on in that year. Great article, thanks again!
Never flew on one but I did get to do a tour of the plane at an open house at Dulles Airport in the 1970’s. We flew out to IAD to visit family in Virginia on an Ozark Airlines DC-9 from Peoria, Illinois with a stop in Champaign, Illinois. BA was hosting the tour and I BEGGED my Mom if we could take it. She reluctantly agreed and I got to spend about 10-15 minutes in the cabin with a quick look at the cockpit.
I was maybe 10-11 years old and I remember thinking the DC-9 we flew out on was more spacious than the Concorde. Not as long of course but wider aisles! Cool looking plane on the outside of course but the interior seemed cramped to me. I sure wouldn’t have turned down a ride on one though.
Yes, the DC-9 would have been wider than Concorde – virtually every commercial airliner is. Great that your Mum eventually agreed on you doing the tour. That must have been very exciting to do, and it was probably something rare enough. I agree with you, no way I’d turn down a ride on one either!