Concordes museum-bound, says BA

By TOM MCGHIE
Updated:

 

BRITISH Airways is planning to give away its five remaining Concordes to museums around the world.

The iconic aircraft, which cost taxpayers £1.4 billion in the Sixties and Seventies (more than £6 billion in today's money), will never be sold, BA has vowed.

The refusal to sell the aircraft that were recently upgraded and refitted for £30 million, is bound to infuriate potential buyers, including Virgin Atlantic, that believe they can make a profit from the supersonic planes.

A BA spokesman said: 'We will never sell this aircraft. The plane is synonymous with British Airways. It is almost a symbol of the airline. In any case, no one but BA and Air France are capable of maintaining this fleet. It would be like asking the corner garage to service a Formula 1 car.'

But Will Whitehorn, righthand man to Sir Richard Branson at Virgin, said: 'I am astonished that BA would not sell the aircraft. I am sure shareholders would be interested in such a decision.

'If they do come on the market, we would be interested in buying them. We have done work on the costings and have had a team looking at the idea. We wanted to buy two from Air France, but they pulled out at the last minute.'

Though Concorde is certified to fly until 2009, falling ticket sales and rising costs seem certain to bring forward its demise. BA bosses last week admitted that the future of Concorde was 'under review' because the downturn in the economy meant there were not enough passengers willing to pay the £8,000 for a return ticket from Heathrow to New York.

The supersonic fleet was grounded for more than a year after the Air France Concorde crash in Paris in July 2000, in which 114 people died. The plane returned to service in November 2001 after an upgrade.

The BA spokesman said: 'The retirement date of the aircraft is under review. In the current commercial environment where business and premium brands are under increased pressure, it's only prudent for us to think carefully about when we should retire Concorde.'

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