trium16
I may be wrong here, but isn't BA (totally selfishly and an utter shame to the nation) refusing to sell Concorde to Branson?
You are wrong here. The only reason BA is retiring Concorde is because they have to. When Air France unilaterally stopped flying with only a few weeks notice, Airbus quickly capitulated too and without manufacturer's support and without cross-channel support (Concorde is and always was an Anglo-French project in manufacture
and operation) continued service is impossible.
And
that is why Branson (or BA, or anyone else)
cannot fly Concorde beyond October. The only reason Concorde is flying that long is because BA fought hard to extend ops that long - and the French are not happy we managed to do that.
But BA must publicly play the political game and tow the line that the retirement is a joint decision. Imaging the reaction from across the Channel if we had pulled the plug!
But it would be as well to remember that BA didn't get them for nothing - they paid many millions for both the aircraft and the support costs - they marketed the aircraft with flair and commercial bravery in the early '80s at privatisation and with out that investment and drive Concorde would have died a very early death with its "sink or swim" mandate from King & Marshall at the time. It became very profitable through massive investment and bloody hard work.
The Pilots and esp the F/E's I think would also be rather grateful (can you imagine the potential BA slagging in the cockpit amongst the crew on a Virgin Concorde, it would be classic!)
Actually, I wouldn't want move to Virgin except for possibly retirement or redundancy (the E/Os of course are in a very different and far less fortunate position than I). I deeply regret the demise of my 'plane, as all of us on the fleet do, but there's no way I would offer myself up to RB to be used as a political pawn and risk being dropped when his
PR game finished. No - its blunties for me in October..... regrettably.
PS: Can we all lighten up here a bit and stop slagging each other off? Ta.