Dear member,
9th Anniversary of Concorde's last flight
Monday marks the 9th Anniversary of Concorde's last flight, from London Heathrow to Filton. The Concorde, Alpha Fox, was flown by Captain Les Brodie. When we informed Les of our plan to relocate a Concorde to London's South Bank, this is what he said, in support of our project.
"I think an easily accessible Concorde exhibit in London would help remind people of what we had achieved, and seeing it may inspire someone to do it again, so you have my endorsement."
£36 Million Investment in Concorde
A private, British Investor is backing two Club Concorde projects, in London and Paris. This millionaire businessman was so impressed with our Concorde for London business plan, that he asked us to organise a similar plan for Paris. As such, we now need two Concordes.
We have been in discussions with the Intrepid Museum in New York regarding the possible relocation of their Concorde, Alpha Delta, to London. If successful, this Concorde would be transported intact, by sea, directly through Tower Bridge, to the Pool of London, and on to the South Bank. Ideally, this would coincide with the 10th Anniversary of Concorde's last flight, on 26th November, 2013.
We have been made aware of the recent arrival of the Space Shuttle Enterprise at Intrepid and the subsequent reduction in the number of daily tours of Concorde. As such, we are in the process of making an improved donation of US$4 Million / £2.5 Million to the Intrepid Museum, for the relocation of their Concorde to London. This donation is to compensate for the loss of Concorde revenue over the next decade.
British Airways retain ownership of their Concordes and would have to approve any relocation plans. However, details of our Business plan, plus proof of funding, have already been submitted to the main board of British Airways.
The first concern many of you will have is the absence of a roof, protecting Concorde from the elements. Well, apart from the fact that Concorde is used to extremes of speed and temperature, the answer is that we have been advised to make a separate, later application for what will be a clear, glass roof. We will be in a very special part of London, which includes a World Heritage site, just across the river, so established views must not be obstructed. Before we get to that stage, the Concorde will be surrounded by a curved, clear glass security screen which will act as a wind breaker and shelter visitors from the elements.
This project is subject to stringent Planning regulations and we have taken advice from numerous interested parties. Most of the parties we have approached are favourable towards our project. We anticipate the planning process will take around six months and cost around £500,000.
There are restrictions on commercial activities on such a platform, so the lower deck will be confined to the storage of maintenance equipment and supplies. As such, all commercial activities will operate from our two riverboats, one of which will be moored between the platform and the new landing stage, which will form part of the Planning application. This landing stage will be open to the general public, as well as Concorde visitors. The idea is that this will help to alleviate the river traffic congestion along this stretch of the Thames.
The riverboats will contain our booking office as well as a memorabilia shop, aircrew presentation area, plus restaurants and bars. One of the riverboats will serve Concorde style cuisine and cater for both corporate and special events. We calculate that this project will generate around 160 new jobs, including many for young people. We envisage a core team of experienced former airline professionals who will pass on their expertise to a new generation.
On the Paris front we are in discussions with several parties about the relocation of a French Concorde to a new display site in the Capital City.
Return to Flight Project - Potential £40 Million Investment
Since the last flight of Concorde in 2003, this has been the dream of Concorde lovers around the World. Both Air France and British Airways had decided there was no commercially viable future for their Concorde fleets. We have it on good authority that the real killer blow for Concorde was not the tragic accident in Paris, but 9/11 and the deaths of around 40 major clients, who were also decision makers on which of their colleagues were allowed to fly on Concorde.
As such, the only way back is as a private, heritage aircraft financed by corporate sponsorship, backed by a viable business plan. We believe we have such a plan, and we already have potential investment of £40 Million to back it up. Our Concorde for London project was oversubscribed to the tune of £40 Million, and we are confident of convincing both investors to back our Return to Flight project.
It will take cross-Channel co-operation to get a Concorde back in the air. As such, our London and Paris projects put us in an ideal situation as they involve technical expertise from both former Air France and British Arways staff. As such, we plan to run an investigation into the technical viability of returning a private, heritage Concorde to flight, such an investigation to run in parallel with our London and Paris projects.
Best regards,
The Club Concorde Team
www.clubconcorde.co.uk