So, on 24 Oct 2003, Britain will cease to be 'Great' any longer. The only asset which raised ba above the rest will no longer fly in revenue service.
Rising costs? Not the sole reason - and one that could probably have been addressed, had they had sufficient interest. Instead, it was used as an excuse, no doubt much to the convenience of Air France. The real cause? Spineless managers with no vision, pride or any idea of what is meant by an 'intangible asset' and accountants with no interest in life other than in their bottom line. The Sunday Times estimates that ba (sorry, no longer BA) will make £250 000 from each of Concorde's last flights. Perhaps if ba had got off its overstuffed corporate backside and marketed the aircraft's uniqueness more positively, she would have flown on to her real end-of-lifetime date.
Sadly, on 24 Oct ba will kill off the only thing which anyone could ever admire them for. They now have nothing to mark them out from any other airline - apart from the lingering stink of the King/Marshall 'Dirty Tricks' era.....
I'm glad that 'Trubby' never knew what the spineless bean counters at ba finally did to his magnificent aeroplane.