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Concorde Farewell

Aired October 24, 2003 - 13:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take you to London now, where they are throwing a farewell party for the Concorde. The supersonic jet touched down to full honors on its last return trip from New York.
And CNN's Richard Quest had a seat onboard.

Richard, we are dying to know, how was it?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was absolutely splendid. It was amazing. I shall probably spend the next couple of minutes gushing at you, Heidi, because it was such a wonderful experience. That is the plane I came across the Atlantic on, Speed Bird 002, the youngest in the Concorde fleet, came into service in 1980. It took us just over 3 hours and 20 minute, traveling at Mach 2, which is twice the speed of sound, 1,350 miles an hour, and we were traveling at the edge of space, 55,000 feet.

But look at this, this is the sort of souvenir that you get. These were the menus for the meal that we had onboard, and it was a special meal that was prepared. But everybody -- all the celebrities on board, Joan Collins, Lord Marshall, chairman of British Airways, John, that's David Frost, the captain, Mike Bannister, all signed it as they got off. This is the sort of souvenir you want to keep and frame, in fact, for the living room.

COLLINS: I bet you will. Richard, I also want to ask you, you bring up the pilot and the captain Mike Bannister. You know, I have a quote from him, saying there are three things in his life he loves, his wife, his daughter, and the Concorde. Did you get a chance to talk with Captain Bannister at all, and what were his feelings today?

QUEST: He said, quite clearly, that the highs of the day had been the departure from New York where we saw the water canyon, the police who escorted the plane out on to the runway, and the amazing crowds that saw us off this morning. And then, of course, the low of the day, the sadness, knowing this was the last time he would be piloting the Concorde supersonic across the Atlantic. The reason, of course, Heidi, that British Airways has decided to retire the fleet, they're getting old. They were going to cost a lot of money to keep flying. And, basically, the rich and famous no longer want to be seen on these planes. It's no longer in, if you like, to be seen spending a lot of money. So Concorde has been retired.

As for Mike Banister, well, he'll be flying smaller planes around the continent of Europe.

COLLINS: All right, very good. And, Richard, we should tell everyone we think they might be able to get a glimpse of the Concorde, any one of the Concordes, at museums around the world, hopefully if we're lucky.

Richard Quest, thanks so much. OK, all right, Richard, thanks again.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 24, 2003 - 13:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take you to London now, where they are throwing a farewell party for the Concorde. The supersonic jet touched down to full honors on its last return trip from New York.
And CNN's Richard Quest had a seat onboard.

Richard, we are dying to know, how was it?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was absolutely splendid. It was amazing. I shall probably spend the next couple of minutes gushing at you, Heidi, because it was such a wonderful experience. That is the plane I came across the Atlantic on, Speed Bird 002, the youngest in the Concorde fleet, came into service in 1980. It took us just over 3 hours and 20 minute, traveling at Mach 2, which is twice the speed of sound, 1,350 miles an hour, and we were traveling at the edge of space, 55,000 feet.

But look at this, this is the sort of souvenir that you get. These were the menus for the meal that we had onboard, and it was a special meal that was prepared. But everybody -- all the celebrities on board, Joan Collins, Lord Marshall, chairman of British Airways, John, that's David Frost, the captain, Mike Bannister, all signed it as they got off. This is the sort of souvenir you want to keep and frame, in fact, for the living room.

COLLINS: I bet you will. Richard, I also want to ask you, you bring up the pilot and the captain Mike Bannister. You know, I have a quote from him, saying there are three things in his life he loves, his wife, his daughter, and the Concorde. Did you get a chance to talk with Captain Bannister at all, and what were his feelings today?

QUEST: He said, quite clearly, that the highs of the day had been the departure from New York where we saw the water canyon, the police who escorted the plane out on to the runway, and the amazing crowds that saw us off this morning. And then, of course, the low of the day, the sadness, knowing this was the last time he would be piloting the Concorde supersonic across the Atlantic. The reason, of course, Heidi, that British Airways has decided to retire the fleet, they're getting old. They were going to cost a lot of money to keep flying. And, basically, the rich and famous no longer want to be seen on these planes. It's no longer in, if you like, to be seen spending a lot of money. So Concorde has been retired.

As for Mike Banister, well, he'll be flying smaller planes around the continent of Europe.

COLLINS: All right, very good. And, Richard, we should tell everyone we think they might be able to get a glimpse of the Concorde, any one of the Concordes, at museums around the world, hopefully if we're lucky.

Richard Quest, thanks so much. OK, all right, Richard, thanks again.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com