Concorde - Give them back to the people !

[iloveconcorde]

I wish that the government had never signed ownership
of Concorde over to BA, I don't have anything against BA
in particular I just think the government) should have
realised that Concorde is a symbol of national pride and
its' destiny shouldn't be decided by one company.

If BA had been allowed to operate them free of charge
but didn't actually own them then the government could
let someone else put in bids for keeping them flying in
commercial service. Though it might not have come to
anything at least it wouldn't be the sole decision of one
company (i.e. BA).

If Richard Branson recons that he had British Aerospace
and Kinetica (sp?) interested in taking over the
support functions then why couldn't BA have looked
into doing the same. Was it really Airbus who wouldn't release
the type certificate ?

Why don't BA just give the Concordes back to the people and
let us, by some democratic process, decide what to do with them.

ILC

[Hand Solo]

1. It's no good wishing they hadn't been sold. They were, and if the last two hadn't been given to BA for a quid then they'd have been in a museum for the last twenty years.

2. Concorde is a symbol of national pride, but if only one company will operate it then they have the final say on their assets.

3. No other company would be permitted to operate it. Virgin do not have the pilots, the engineers, the equipment or the 27 years of experience to operate it. Without them the CAA would never issue a Certificate of Airworthiness to allow it to fly. Even if they could get them, Airbus own the design authority on the aircraft and made it quite clear they were not going to release that to anyone, regardless of price.

4. You can't just give something to 'the people'!!! Who represents them? Why it's the government, and I hardly think their track record on the Millenium Dome and countless other follies makes them a suitable judge. Besides, what alternative would 'the people' have other than to place them in museums, given that at best only one could continue flying for displays only.


What people forget in the sentimentality is that Concorde has always been part of an Anglo-French love-hate relationship. Were it not for the French enforcing legally binding contracts the UK government would have pulled the plug on Concorde before it ever flew. The aircraft has been a drain on Air France resources for years, an aircraft they would have liked to be rid of but were prevented from being so by Gallic pride and the desire to ensure the British were not the sole operators. Given that the design authority on the aircraft is owned by a predominantly French company, do you really believe that once Air France threw in the towel any other company would be permitted to operate the aircraft commercially?

[Jerricho]

H.S.

While I am as sad as anybody else to see her go............you have made the most sense out of all the posts on this site!! Thank you.

[PPRuNe Pop]

With all the threads running I am closing this one. The arguments are getting repetitive.