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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0201.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Concorde money is in charters LONDON & PARIS As Europe's supersonic airliner marks its 10th anni versary, British Airways and Air France are reaping the benefits of a fast-developing charter market for the type of service which only Concorde can offer, reports J. M. Ramsden. Nobody is com plaining that this is scarcely what the aircraft's backers had in mind at its conception. Air France's four Concordes will fly about 70 charters in 1986, while British Airways' fleet of seven supersonic transports will probably exceed the record 200 per formed last year. In the past four years BA's Concordes have flown about 500 char ters, and revenue from this business is running at more than £12 million a year. Half the revenue now comes from New York-London Concorde/ QE2 packages arranged with Cunard. BA's charter business has in fact grown to the point where the airline's Concorde fleet is within 10 per cent of capacity limit, allowing for standby aircraft for scheduled services. Air France sees charters as Concorde's main future growth business, though the airline is discussing a sched uled transatlantic parcels operation with the courier company DHL. Europe's two Concorde airlines inaugurated the supersonic era simultaneously on January 21, 1976 ("Super sonic Passenger Decade", pages 20-25). New York is today Concorde's main market—as envisaged when the first rough supersonic payload range calculations were made in Europe more than 30 years ago. BA flies twice daily and AF daily between London and New York. The only other scheduled Concorde destina tions, both BA, are Miami via Washington thrice weekly from London. Paris-New York is now the only French Concorde scheduled service. Without New York there would probably be no Concorde. The aircraft was fighting for its life in 1976 and 1977, during the environ mental impact hearings which US law required before it was allowed into New York. Concorde is seen by its operators as a 100-seat busi ness jet which connects non stop the world's greatest centres of commerce. One of BA's clients has made 500 return flights at a cost of £li million. Concorde allows him a day's work in New York and home for dinner. Nearly half of Air France's Concorde customers make three flights a year. Other scheduled destina tions have been tried but abandoned, in some cases because the high-premium business traffic has not ma terialised, in others because of operational difficulties— mainly the cost of spares backup on long routes, and the sonic boom. The lesson of the sonic boom is that nobody will accept it. Supersonic flight over inhabited land must be avoided. Subsonic sectors are feasible but fuel-guzzling, and are operated only on charters which can be priced and flight-planned accordingly. Supersonic flight over the USA is actually illegal: BA's Washington-Miami sector is overwater, but the New York- San Francisco sector of the airline's planned round-the- world charter next November will have to be subsonic. So will some portions of the ensuing sectors via Hawaii, Hong Kong, Bali, Cairo, and London. The problem became politi cal, even racist, as Concorde and its "white man's boom" sought economic global route- ings. The next supersonic airliner will have to be a lean subsonic cruiser or super- atmospheric. Bahrain, BA's inaugural destination on January 21, 1976, was inhibited by the boom and was suspended, as were the commercially prom ising operational partnerships with SIA to Singapore and with Braniff to Dallas-Fort Worth via Washington (where Braniff crews took over). AF's inaugural desti nation, Rio via Dakar, was discontinued in 1982 for traffic reasons. The French airline suspended Washing ton and Mexico City in the same year, having previously dropped its interchange with Braniff to DFW and its weekly flight to Caracas. Both airlines have now decided to concentrate on New York, plus Washington and Miami in the case of Brit ish Airways. As Jean-Didier Blanchet of Air France points out, BA has in London an American market perhaps three times bigger than Paris. Lagos is a feasible new BA Concorde scheduled route, supersonic all the way, but it would stretch Concorde capacity beyond the limit. In any case, West Africa is now BCal territory. Both airlines have restyled their cabins. British Airways has gone for an all-grey scheme with leather sports- car style Recaro double chairs (costing two tickets, or £4,000, the pair) and new bins and suitbag stowage. Air France has gone for more colourful "tulip" and "cardi nal" reds, blue, and beige. : <5$^TW--'' 5$v¥>V W RUNNING PERFECTLY? Now, yes! But what happens when a breakdown occurs? Will it mean a serious budget shortfall? Not if you are covered by our unique Aircraft Engine Breakdown Insurance Policy. Contact us now- Hall and Clarke Insurance Consultants Ltd 67 Park Royal Road London NW107JJ Telephone: 01-965 8444 Telex: 945060 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 25 January 1986
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