Concorde and cabin crew...

[shinners]

Hi to everyone!
Is there any BA or AF cabin crew who worked on the concorde???

I would like to know how was the life of a fa on this airplane...
how many flights per month?

which were the flight limitations hours??
were there some benefits?

and I would like to know also how much was used the aircraft.. had a long stop in the airport to check it better o could it fly several flights per day?

Thank you!

[lulutinkerbell]

Hello. I wasnt FA on the Concorde but I was Ground staff at LHR on the Concorde Team for many years. The Concorde had two flights a day to JFK the BA001 at 1030 and the BA003 at 1900.

We also had Concorde flights to Barbados during the summer months for many years to cater for the lucky few.

I have travelled on the Concorde several times and the aircraft did turn around and return as the BA 002 and the BA 004 on the same day.

The BA 004 arrived at LHR at about 2225 and was almost the last flight in.

When I travelled out on the BA003 at 1900 we arrived JFK at about 1725 I think, which was really strange as we landed before we had taken off! The flight time if I remember correctly was approx 3hr20mins.

Sorry I cant help you with the life of an FA on Concorde, but I would have thought it was rather like the life of EF CC rather than WW.

Hope this helps.

[shinners]

sure, thanks a lot.
how much was a ticket?
Imagine if you had had to pay:) :)

[lulutinkerbell]

I think it was about £8000 return but I cant remember exactly. I know it was a lot though!

I can honestly say that being on board was not nearly as exciting as hearing it go directly overhead!!!!

:D

[snxlou101]

the ticket as of 2003 was £7500

[vodkaholic]

i have been on concorde recently at the museum in filton where one is parked up, and it was fascinating!! the seats were so comfy and the pax got everything they could ever want really! but i found the galleys were very ickle and must have made life hard for the FAs working on them...I think i remember them saying there were 6 cabin crew working on concorde, i could be totlaly wrong though!
As we were cabin crew ourselves, the men at the museum let us open and close the doors, push the carts up and down the aisle and sit in the seat the queen sat in!! brilliant day, if you ever get a chance to go - do! :)

[shinners]

I saw a video taken on a BA concorde flight in 2002 and the cabin seemed quite crowded of flight attendands:) :)


I'm sure that for the next 100 years people won't have the opportunity to flight at supersonic speed. So for the ones who experienced this, congratulations!

[flitegirl]

It used to fly so fast you could never keep your beehive neat and tidy - always battling those fly-away hairs :E

[smartalec888]

I'd like to have viewed the Concorde safety video for pax.

[apaddyinuk]

Im pretty sure that there was no safety video and it was a manual demo. I fly with a lot of former Concorde crew and believe it or not, there were no screens onboard!

[scruggs]

Hi lulutinkerbell,

Just a quick question about the BA003/4. You say the aircraft were turned around and returned the same day.

If the BA003 departed LHR at 1900 UK time, with say a 3hr20min flight, it would arrive in JFK at around 2230 UK time. If it was turned around say in 90 mins and returned the same day, wouldn't it arrive early hours of the following morning?

Or am I reading your post wrong (I do that more often than not).

I read somwhere that when the 003/4 was operated, the BA001 aircraft operated BA004 the same day. The aircraft what operated the BA003 overnighted and operated the BA002 the following day. Is this info incorrect lulutinkerbell?

Thanks,
S.

[lulutinkerbell]

Scruggs,
I am sure you are right. I got a bit confused trying to remember what turned around into what, but there were several Concordes at Heathrow at any one time so I cant be sure the 001 went back again as the 004. Certainly the 004 would have overnighted and probably returned as the 002 the following morning from JFK, I think it left about 0900.

Sorry cant be of more help, unsure of the exact details so do not want to confuse the issue.
Lulu

[kingdee]

get the jump seat on the last flight ex LBA - LHR .At the time i worked for Servisair and she used to come and do pleasure flights .What an experience down to LHR on jumpseat ( bring back the days of jumpseat travel) .If i remember the acft was due to go out to JFK that evening but incurred an oil leak on one of the engines .Best experience of my life .

[speedmarque]

Crew on Concorde at BA were either "Lifers" who were always on it or others who were interviewed and selected to fly it for a two or three year period.

It was shorthaul fleet (believe it or not) and crew who flew it were also 757 and A320 crew! One day you could be on the Supersonic 002 from JFK and the next day you were doing a MAN shuttle!

Crew compliment of 6 (CSD, PUR and 4 main crew)

Very hot to work on, cramped galleys (one at rear ane mid cabin).

Doors baked in heat rather than being cold on a normal a/c. This was due to the speed and air friction.

No trollies on board, all delivered by hand.

Trip patterns were two days long for a JFK return with 24 hours there.

Weekly BGI on Sat, you either positioned out or back on 777 from LGW and operated the other way. Flight time to BGI 4 hours or so. If winds strong fuel stop at Cape Verde islands.

Crew wore hats and silver concorde badges that other crew didnt. Old uniform we had blue badges for everyone so the silver ones stood out.

Hot hot hot to work on! Always wiping each others faces dry before going into cabin!

The charters were fun, when you went somewhere different and off network where crew were treated like celebrities! Signing autographs for people just because you were Concorde Cabin Crew! Weird.
Cheers

[Rush2112]

One of my biggest regrets, never got to be Concorde SLF :{ Criminal to let the seppoes make us take it out of service because they didn't like the noise it made.