View Full Version : BA Concordes no longer available for ad-hoc charters ?
charterguy
6th Aug 2002, 00:37
Just tried to book a Concorde charter for one of our clients, but BA staff say their current policy is 'not to charter' the aircraft in the wake of last year's accident. Does anyone know whether AF have adopted a similar policy or whether their a/c are available for charter early next year ? I have no idea as to why BA have decided to 'ban' charter flights. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure Concorde flies the same, whether it is a charter or a scheduled flight. :confused:
I suspect it is to do with Insurance. The German tourists who were killed in the Air France crash were all quite wealthy, hence, the payouts were(I believe) more substantial.
Anyone who can afford to pay for one of these Chartered concorde seats would be quite well off, I would say that BA are just trying to keep their insurance premiums low.
NigelOnDraft
6th Aug 2002, 06:26
<<I suspect it is to do with Insurance. The German tourists who were killed in the Air France crash were all quite wealthy>>
Doubt this - with all respect, the film stars and business types flying to and from JFK each day I suspect are better loaded than the occupants for a "round the bay" charter.
More likely:
1. Lack of airframes / crews due to the disruption and mods required.
2. Airframe life - the airframe has a limited lifespan (this can be extended, but there will be an ultimate limit), and there is no prospect of a replacement type. If it is judged better for BA to keep Concorde flying well into the future, then they do not want to use up life on charters, particularly if they are not highly profitable.
NoD
Crash_and_Burn
6th Aug 2002, 07:09
This is nothing new, the Nocharter policy has been in place since the resumption of service.
They need to ensure a robust transatalntic service before they can be sure of a robust charter operation, well as robust as it ever was or will be.
heinzmanm
6th Aug 2002, 09:36
From what I understood, not enough of the aircraft have been 'modified' with the Kevlar lined fuel tanks to allow them to be used for charters.
This means that there are just enough available to operate 1 daily round trip to New York, hence the reason for the 2nd daily LHR-JFK flight having not resumed yet.
I believe that 3 aircraft are required for the daily flight, one at LHR, one at JFK and a standby.
This policy predates the AF accident, it just hadn't taken effect at that time owing to the lead time.
It may be the case that in the future ad-hoc charters will once again feature in the programme, but for now the focus is entirely on the BAW001/2, 273/2 and, in the near future, 003/4 flights - which are where the profits were made even in the days of extensive ad-hoc work.
The fleet is keen and ready to carry out the work as soon as the board see fit to give the green light, but equally can see the need to get the prime flights on a firm footing before stretching the operation again.