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CNN Live Today
Concorde's Last Flight Arrives in London
Aired October 24, 2003 - 11:05 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There you have it, this is the plane, the Concorde, that took off at 7:35 a.m., from JFK, landing at Heathrow. The final flight of the Concorde. The British Airways plane making its final flight across the Atlantic there, carrying a number of passengers onboard, about 100 passengers.
Now we have our Richard Quest on board the plane. We have our Paula Hancocks standing by at the airport.
Paula, why don't you take it from here.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thanks, Daryn. We have just seen the three last Concordes land here at Heathrow, the end of the supersonic era. We have the third one, the trans-Atlantic one, which left New York, JFK, just over four hours ago. It has 100 very important passengers on there, the Celebrities, the likes of Christy Brinkley, the model, Joan Collins, the actress, and of course our very own Richard Quest, who is on that flight, and he'll be talking to us about it in just a moment.
Now, once that flight has landed, we will see it taxiing around behind us. There's a red carpet there, where those 100 passenger will be coming out to greet the press and to go into a special ceremonious meeting.
So the last Concorde has landed. Twenty-seven years of the supersonic era is at an end now -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And, Paula, if you can talk more about why this is coming to an end. It seems like something so special, a step forward in aviation history, why something so special is not able to continue.
HANCOCKS: That's right, Daryn. It is one of the greatest technological advances of the 20th century, and people are sad that it's finished. I mean, 2.5 million passengers we've had since 1976. The reason it's finished is it's not economically viable. Fuel costs have increased. If you consider the Concorde takes up at least twice as much fuel per hour as the BA-747. The maintenance costs are restrictive as well. It's 1950s, 1960s technology, and it's expensive for them to try and change these parts. So basically, that's the reason why British Airways has finished their Concordes today. Air France finished their Concorde back in May. They decided that they just could not afford to keep it up in the air, $8,000 a ticket as well. So it's fairly prohibitive. You have to have a fair bit of money to take that flight -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And so the service goes away, but what is actually going to happen to these planes?
HANCOCKS: Well, some of them will be put in museums. Parts of some of them will be sold off. Air France has already started selling some as souvenirs, bits and bobs from inside the cockpit, inside the plane itself. I spoke to the chief executive of British Airways, Rod Eddington (ph) this morning. He said he would be doing the same early next year. So you will be able to buy a little piece of the supersonic sexy lady as very many people call it. So that will be early next year.
And also, they're thinking they may keep one back for ceremonies, for fly-pasts, things like that.
KAGAN: Very good. Paula Hancocks, at Heathrow. thank you for that. Now we have aviation historian Thomas Heppenheimer joining us on the phone.
Thomas, good morning.
A little bittersweet for someone like you who tracks the world of aviation to see this chapter coming to an end.
THOMAS HEPPENHEIMER, AVIATION HISTORIAN: You're asking is it a little bit sad?
KAGAN: Yes.
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, it had to happen sometime, that's all I can say.
KAGAN: But why did it have to happen sometime?
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, all aircraft eventually age, and go out of service.
KAGAN: Well, that's true, but then they're usually replaced by something that's even better. And this seems like a step backward in the world of aviation.
HEPPENHEIMER: I wouldn't call it a step backward, because we don't necessarily know which way is forward, when we try.
KAGAN: OK. I think -- but there's nothing that will allow to us get across if you have the funds to do it, to get across the pond as quickly if -- it will be a lot slower.
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, what we are really seeing here today is the final triumph of the subsonic jet airliner, the kind of airliner most of us fly in, you know, built by Boeing, built by Airbus.
KAGAN: Right. And what is the next thing?
HEPPENHEIMER: The next thing is more subsonic airliners.
KAGAN: That will get us there more quickly and more comfortably?
HEPPENHEIMER: Perhaps more comfortably, but not more quickly.
KAGAN: And so what is the next thing in speeding up travel?
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, I'm afraid where we are is kind of where we're stuck. I know we all would like to whisk ourselves across the ocean on a magic carpet ride, but I'm afraid we will have to continue flying airliners much like the ones we're in today.
KAGAN: All right, well, thank you for your expertise. Appreciate that.
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 - 11:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There you have it, this is the plane, the Concorde, that took off at 7:35 a.m., from JFK, landing at Heathrow. The final flight of the Concorde. The British Airways plane making its final flight across the Atlantic there, carrying a number of passengers onboard, about 100 passengers.
Now we have our Richard Quest on board the plane. We have our Paula Hancocks standing by at the airport.
Paula, why don't you take it from here.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thanks, Daryn. We have just seen the three last Concordes land here at Heathrow, the end of the supersonic era. We have the third one, the trans-Atlantic one, which left New York, JFK, just over four hours ago. It has 100 very important passengers on there, the Celebrities, the likes of Christy Brinkley, the model, Joan Collins, the actress, and of course our very own Richard Quest, who is on that flight, and he'll be talking to us about it in just a moment.
Now, once that flight has landed, we will see it taxiing around behind us. There's a red carpet there, where those 100 passenger will be coming out to greet the press and to go into a special ceremonious meeting.
So the last Concorde has landed. Twenty-seven years of the supersonic era is at an end now -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And, Paula, if you can talk more about why this is coming to an end. It seems like something so special, a step forward in aviation history, why something so special is not able to continue.
HANCOCKS: That's right, Daryn. It is one of the greatest technological advances of the 20th century, and people are sad that it's finished. I mean, 2.5 million passengers we've had since 1976. The reason it's finished is it's not economically viable. Fuel costs have increased. If you consider the Concorde takes up at least twice as much fuel per hour as the BA-747. The maintenance costs are restrictive as well. It's 1950s, 1960s technology, and it's expensive for them to try and change these parts. So basically, that's the reason why British Airways has finished their Concordes today. Air France finished their Concorde back in May. They decided that they just could not afford to keep it up in the air, $8,000 a ticket as well. So it's fairly prohibitive. You have to have a fair bit of money to take that flight -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And so the service goes away, but what is actually going to happen to these planes?
HANCOCKS: Well, some of them will be put in museums. Parts of some of them will be sold off. Air France has already started selling some as souvenirs, bits and bobs from inside the cockpit, inside the plane itself. I spoke to the chief executive of British Airways, Rod Eddington (ph) this morning. He said he would be doing the same early next year. So you will be able to buy a little piece of the supersonic sexy lady as very many people call it. So that will be early next year.
And also, they're thinking they may keep one back for ceremonies, for fly-pasts, things like that.
KAGAN: Very good. Paula Hancocks, at Heathrow. thank you for that. Now we have aviation historian Thomas Heppenheimer joining us on the phone.
Thomas, good morning.
A little bittersweet for someone like you who tracks the world of aviation to see this chapter coming to an end.
THOMAS HEPPENHEIMER, AVIATION HISTORIAN: You're asking is it a little bit sad?
KAGAN: Yes.
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, it had to happen sometime, that's all I can say.
KAGAN: But why did it have to happen sometime?
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, all aircraft eventually age, and go out of service.
KAGAN: Well, that's true, but then they're usually replaced by something that's even better. And this seems like a step backward in the world of aviation.
HEPPENHEIMER: I wouldn't call it a step backward, because we don't necessarily know which way is forward, when we try.
KAGAN: OK. I think -- but there's nothing that will allow to us get across if you have the funds to do it, to get across the pond as quickly if -- it will be a lot slower.
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, what we are really seeing here today is the final triumph of the subsonic jet airliner, the kind of airliner most of us fly in, you know, built by Boeing, built by Airbus.
KAGAN: Right. And what is the next thing?
HEPPENHEIMER: The next thing is more subsonic airliners.
KAGAN: That will get us there more quickly and more comfortably?
HEPPENHEIMER: Perhaps more comfortably, but not more quickly.
KAGAN: And so what is the next thing in speeding up travel?
HEPPENHEIMER: Well, I'm afraid where we are is kind of where we're stuck. I know we all would like to whisk ourselves across the ocean on a magic carpet ride, but I'm afraid we will have to continue flying airliners much like the ones we're in today.
KAGAN: All right, well, thank you for your expertise. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
