Buzz
On March 11, 1976, the New York and New Jersey port authorities banned supersonic transport aircraft like Concorde from landing at JFK airport due to pressure from American citizens over noise concerns. Air France and British Airways had to find alternative routes while jointly filing lawsuits for discrimination and business obstruction in June 1977.
One of the targeted routes was to the land of kangaroos, and Singapore was a key stop in this route consisting of London - Bahrain - Singapore - Sydney. By September 1977, British Airways reached a cooperation agreement with Singapore Airlines to operate this route. The Concorde with tail number G-BOAD was put into operation with a crew arranged by British Airways, with Singapore Airlines' flight attendants on one leg and British Airways' on the other.
Braniff International Airways - chartering both aircraft and crew
Braniff Airways, a once prominent American airline, operated from 1930 to 1982. Remarkably, in 1979, the company ventured into supersonic travel by leasing two Concorde aircraft from Air France and British Airways for domestic flights, such as the route from Dallas to Washington.However, the Concorde planes operated by Braniff Airways retained the livery of Air France and British Airways. The crew, comprising both flight attendants and pilots, hailed from these two renowned carriers. Due to utilizing the Concorde for domestic routes from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to Washington Dulles Airport, ticket prices were relatively affordable. For instance, in 1979, the highest fare was $194 one way (equivalent to $702 today), escalating to $227 one way in 1980 (equivalent to $724 today).Singapore Airlines and Braniff Airways were among the few airlines to operate the Concorde, albeit for a brief period. Additionally, several other airlines expressed interest in the Concorde, some even placing orders, but ultimately, the plans were scrapped.
TWA (Trans World Airlines) stands as one of the prominent American airlines that once placed joint orders with Aerospatiale and BAC to purchase Concorde. Despite facing competition pressure from its counterparts within the Big Four of American aviation, TWA entered the supersonic race by initially placing orders for 4, later increased to 6 Concorde aircraft in 1965. However, following Pan Am's lead, TWA also canceled its Concorde orders due to operational inefficiencies.Apart from the major players like Pan Am and TWA, other American airlines such as Continental Airlines (later merged with United Airlines) ordered 3 aircraft, while American Airlines ordered 6 and Eastern Airlines ordered 6 as well. However, all these orders were canceled in 1973 due to cost considerations, especially after the crash of the Soviet Tu-144 'Concorde' at the Paris Air Show. This incident prompted airlines to reconsider their Concorde orders, causing a setback in supersonic aviation.Europe Takes a Step Back
While American airlines have abandoned the idea of operating Concorde, there are still many airlines around the world who crave Concorde but ultimately fail for various reasons.
In Europe, Lufthansa of Germany was quick to race into supersonic aviation in the 1960s. Alongside Concorde, Lufthansa also kept an eye on the US SST program with supersonic commercial aircraft designs from Lockheed and Boeing. Professor Ernst Simon, responsible for aircraft evaluation at Lufthansa's technical department at the time, commented, 'All designs are too complex. We are concerned about the high operating costs of the American designs while Concorde can only carry 100 passengers with a first-class cabin layout (Lockheed and Boeing designs aimed at 250 seats).' ... 'No design that Lufthansa can operate profitably.' Despite being on the potential buyer list with 3 orders, Lufthansa still canceled because in the end, Concorde still did not meet Lufthansa's requirements for payload and range.IranAir buys Concorde for ... color TV exchange
IranAir commenced commercial operations before Emirates by more than 20 years, positioning itself as one of the dominant airlines on routes between the US, Europe, and Asia. Had it not been for the oil crisis and if IranAir had operated the Concorde, the aviation landscape might have been different. With a third airline alongside Air France and British Airways, coupled with cheap fuel, the Concorde could have sparked a world dominated by supersonic travel. However, history does not entertain 'what ifs.' Some argue that if the Concorde had persisted, leading to the proliferation of other supersonic aircraft, Airbus and the global aviation industry would have looked vastly different today.
The image depicts a Concorde taking off from Mumbai Airport in India. In 1972, a Concorde embarked on a demonstration tour to various countries, including India, where negotiations between Aerospatiale-BAC and Air India took place but yielded no agreement. Air India officials feared that operating the Concorde could pose long-term economic hazards.Qantas and the Ambition for a Fleet of Dozens of Supersonic Jets
