Ever fly on Concorde ?
Discussion
Was chatting to a family member the other day and they were recollecting their experience on Concorde back in the 90's when they flew to New York.
I never got the chance to fly on it but desperately wish I had done.
Was wondering if any of you guys had the pleasure of flying on the supersonic marvel ?
I never got the chance to fly on it but desperately wish I had done.
Was wondering if any of you guys had the pleasure of flying on the supersonic marvel ?
GT03ROB said:
Yip. Did a long weekend in NY Concorde both ways in 2002.
Was it as good as everyone says it was?My family member mentioned they were very impressed from boarding all the way to disembarkation.
The level of service was outstanding, the flight was very smooth, with supersonic being more or less unnoticeable but the most impressive of all was take off and the acceleration.
Am I correct in stating that the angle of take off was much higher than typical jet passenger aircraft?
They mentioned it felt like they were aiming for the moon!
Yep - my wife bought treated us for my 50th with Eurostar to Paris and Concorde back via the Atlantic to hit Mach 2. It was a fantastic experience, the shove of the seat back on take-off and again to accelerate to Mach 2. The staff were really attentive, but the cabin was so narrow - not much bigger than a Viscount.
I've been pretty much obsessed with Concorde since I was 5 or 6. My folks took my brother and me to see it take off when we kids and I still vividly remember it. In the late 90's I went and stood on top of a car park at Heathrow to watch a departure and once again found it deeply impressive.
Had I known it would no longer be with us, I would have done one of those little loops around the Bay of Biscay, IIRC that was about £700.
Closest I have managed to get was doing the tour at Manchester airport:
Had I known it would no longer be with us, I would have done one of those little loops around the Bay of Biscay, IIRC that was about £700.
Closest I have managed to get was doing the tour at Manchester airport:
louiebaby said:
I wish I had. The experience at Brooklands was very good a few years ago, and I think I'll ask for a go in the Simulator there for my impending 40th birthday.
We went to an event last year at Brooklands and Mike Bannister lowered the nose for us. Excuse the terrible photo it was getting dark.
Sadly I was only 17 when they retired them and my parents aren’t made of money so nope never flown in it for real.
I flew to New York on it a few months before they went out of service. By booking the flight from Amsterdam via Heathrow I got it more cheaply. The whole package, Heathrow to Amsterdam, one night in a good hotel there, then BA back to Heathrow and Concorde to JFK followed by BA club world return a few days later cost about £2500.
The whole day was fantastic quite apart from the flight.
Lunch in Amsterdam. Afternoon tea in the BA lounge in Schiphol. Prawn sandwiches and Champagne in the Concorde lounge in T4 at about 6PM local. Then flying at Mach 2 and 58,000 feet. Got into my hotel in Manhattan at 6PM NY time, then off to spend the evening wandering round Times square and Broadway.
The whole day was fantastic quite apart from the flight.
Lunch in Amsterdam. Afternoon tea in the BA lounge in Schiphol. Prawn sandwiches and Champagne in the Concorde lounge in T4 at about 6PM local. Then flying at Mach 2 and 58,000 feet. Got into my hotel in Manhattan at 6PM NY time, then off to spend the evening wandering round Times square and Broadway.
Dr Jekyll said:
Lunch in Amsterdam. Afternoon tea in the BA lounge in Schiphol. Prawn sandwiches and Champagne in the Concorde lounge in T4 at about 6PM local. Then flying at Mach 2 and 58,000 feet. Got into my hotel in Manhattan at 6PM NY time, then off to spend the evening wandering round Times square and Broadway.
Sounds amazing.I think one of the most amazing things about Concorde was that flying from Europe to NYC, you arrived before you'd left, effectively.....
paulguitar said:
Closest I have managed to get was doing the tour at Manchester airport
Ditto here.I grew up under the flight path out of LBA where it visited a few times. Certainly made a noise!
At one point in my teens I was going to blow all my savings on one of those fun flights (couldn't afford the whole LHR-JFK trip) but somehow didn't get round to it. Would have been my first time flying too. Been kicking myself ever since!
t merchant anyway, and didn't seem to want to go into any great detail when asked how it related to business/first on a subsonic flight in terms of experience. One of my very rare regrets in life.
I was on the display plane in Paris and many years later on the Brooklands Concorde, both of course on the ground. I would love to have flown it but never had the occasion. By the time I could afford a flight it was already done, sadly.
What a great time it was to have flown like that.
I was on the display plane in Paris and many years later on the Brooklands Concorde, both of course on the ground. I would love to have flown it but never had the occasion. By the time I could afford a flight it was already done, sadly.
What a great time it was to have flown like that.
ZeroGroundZero said:
GT03ROB said:
Yip. Did a long weekend in NY Concorde both ways in 2002.
Was it as good as everyone says it was?My family member mentioned they were very impressed from boarding all the way to disembarkation.
The level of service was outstanding, the flight was very smooth, with supersonic being more or less unnoticeable but the most impressive of all was take off and the acceleration.
Am I correct in stating that the angle of take off was much higher than typical jet passenger aircraft?
They mentioned it felt like they were aiming for the moon!
At the time I had a few months before had my divorce go through so was still struggling to some extent with seeing my son on a regular basis. But decided we would go away on holiday somewhere. I was thinking about where to go and had a fair few Avios & Amex 2-4-1 voucher. I wasn't sure how to use the voucher so just rang up BA asking how I could use it & if I could even use it on Concorde. Lady said "Of course, when do you want to go?". I gave her some dates & she booked us both there & then.
Come the day of travel & I hadn't told my son what we were doing other than going away for a few days, he was 6 at the time. Turned up at the airport, he was oblivious, lady at check in was very polite & whispered to me "Does he know?", I said no, Still oblivious we went through to the Concorde lounge. It was quite something to be sat in the lounge with Concorde straight in front of you, awaiting your presence. it was about 9:30 in the morning & waiters were everywhere serving champagne. It wasn't until we actually boarded that my son realized he was going on it.
The acceleration on take off was far greater than anything I've experienced in any other aircraft. Service on board excellent as to be expected. After cruising for awhile the captain announces that we are just about to push through the sound barrier. There is a surge of acceleration which is like somebody gently pushing you in the back.
Having left home at 9ish & then travelling into NYC at about the same time is strange! A little anecdote about the service on the ground. On the return from New York we had breakfast in the Concorde lounge there which was waiter service. Whilst ordering with the waiter from the menu, he asked if there was anything else we wanted, my son blurted out "Strawberries". Waiter simply said I'll see what I can do as it wasn't shown anywhere. he came back a few minutes later with a bowl full of strawberries with a small jug of cream.
An experience I'm glad to have taken.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff