Concorde landmark to go....
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Concorde landmark to go....
I see from tonight's TV news that the once-proud ba can no longer afford to support the 'Concorde roundabout' landmark at LHR. They are giving up the site to some arab airline, I gather, with effect from 1 Apr 07. Even I can't believe that this is some elaborate April Fools' Day joke.
Now although ba is a pretty bland and insignificant airline these days, with no interest whatsoever in its history, the loss of such a prestigous site to a foreign airline seems somewhat surprising.
Or maybe they're just hugely embarrassed that, ever since they killed off Concorde, they have absolutely nothing special to offer?
Some wide boy in a shiny suit was spouting about Terminal 5, as though that'll be the answer to all ba's woes. But somehow I doubt it will be.
Still, at least the model will survive. ba hope to offer it to either Brooklands or Duxford.
Now although ba is a pretty bland and insignificant airline these days, with no interest whatsoever in its history, the loss of such a prestigous site to a foreign airline seems somewhat surprising.
Or maybe they're just hugely embarrassed that, ever since they killed off Concorde, they have absolutely nothing special to offer?
Some wide boy in a shiny suit was spouting about Terminal 5, as though that'll be the answer to all ba's woes. But somehow I doubt it will be.
Still, at least the model will survive. ba hope to offer it to either Brooklands or Duxford.
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I think you're missing the bigger picture here
It's a model of an obsolete aircraft
The site costs a not inconsiderable £1.5M per year to lease plus maintenance
In just over a years time BA will be entrenched within T5
I for one think the concorde model looks a little tired and old now where it is, a relic from a past age. Not like we fly it anymore.
All in my humble opinion of course
It's a model of an obsolete aircraft
The site costs a not inconsiderable £1.5M per year to lease plus maintenance
In just over a years time BA will be entrenched within T5
I for one think the concorde model looks a little tired and old now where it is, a relic from a past age. Not like we fly it anymore.
All in my humble opinion of course
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....and for £1.5 million a year they make almost 21,000,000 ABC1 adults turn their heads and see the living embodiment of the British Airways brand.
Cheap at twice the price.
Cheap at twice the price.
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Advertiser speak 
How many of those arriving at the airport arrived without tickets and subsequently bought with BA at the terminal?
How many of those passing the model were drawn to book with BA because of the model?
Compare those numbers with those who visited ba.com because they saw the giant letters ba.com on the side of a bus???
Emirates obviously believe it's worth the money as they are leasing the spot next but then again they have a bottomless wallet dont they??
Again, all IMHO
How many of those arriving at the airport arrived without tickets and subsequently bought with BA at the terminal?
How many of those passing the model were drawn to book with BA because of the model?
Compare those numbers with those who visited ba.com because they saw the giant letters ba.com on the side of a bus???
Emirates obviously believe it's worth the money as they are leasing the spot next but then again they have a bottomless wallet dont they??
Again, all IMHO
[Quote] "Still, at least the model will survive. ba hope to offer it to either Brooklands or Duxford." [Unquote]
Are you sure about that, BEags ?
I heard that, because of its construction, it was bound to be terminally damaged during removal.
However, I certainly hope you're right.
Rgds, Sleeve.
Are you sure about that, BEags ?
I heard that, because of its construction, it was bound to be terminally damaged during removal.
However, I certainly hope you're right.
Rgds, Sleeve.
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Personally I think it should have gone when Concorde was withdrawn from service. If I remember correctly, the tagline below the model is something like:
"BA, Concorde....Timeless."
Timeless? Clearly not!
"BA, Concorde....Timeless."
Timeless? Clearly not!
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Originally Posted by Fargoo
How many of those arriving at the airport arrived without tickets and subsequently bought with BA at the terminal?
Originally Posted by Fargoo
How many of those passing the model were drawn to book with BA because of the model?
Originally Posted by Fargoo
Compare those numbers with those who visited ba.com because they saw the giant letters ba.com on the side of a bus???
Originally Posted by Fargoo
Emirates obviously believe it's worth the money as they are leasing the spot next but then again they have a bottomless wallet dont they??
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money talks..thats all it comes down to these days.....
i work @ LHR (car rental bus driver) and must drive past that model so many times in a day. yeah, exactly; timeless my a?se..
not a day passes without some passenger usually commenting on its beautiful life and sad loss.
...some even think it's the real thing....
emirates are running the show now.....you'd think heathrow was now a middle eastern airport...
i work @ LHR (car rental bus driver) and must drive past that model so many times in a day. yeah, exactly; timeless my a?se..
not a day passes without some passenger usually commenting on its beautiful life and sad loss.
...some even think it's the real thing....
emirates are running the show now.....you'd think heathrow was now a middle eastern airport...
Last edited by darrylj; 7th Mar 2007 at 22:50.
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Whoa there guys...
So the site costs 0ne and a half million a year .. so what ? What is the advertising budget for Birdseed Aviation ? 1 1/2 mill is small potatoes in comparison..The site is at the very entrance to Heathrow, THE airport of the country one might say... BA is THE International Airline of Britain... surely that site has to be an advertising Gem... at least an Arab airline and its ad agency thinks so...
So the site costs 0ne and a half million a year .. so what ? What is the advertising budget for Birdseed Aviation ? 1 1/2 mill is small potatoes in comparison..The site is at the very entrance to Heathrow, THE airport of the country one might say... BA is THE International Airline of Britain... surely that site has to be an advertising Gem... at least an Arab airline and its ad agency thinks so...
Thread Starter
And if Emirates really do put a model of the A380 where once Concorde stood proud, what will people say?
"What a fat ugly thing"
Can't help feeling that a certain PM of a few years ago would have had wee Willie in for a sound handbagging if she'd learned of the idea.
What's ba.com?
ba apologists love to trot out the phrase "It's gone, let's move on" about Concorde. But the truth is that they've got absolutely no unique selling point nowadays - catering strikes, cabin crew threatening to strike, massive cancellations during the fog last December (and who pioneered Cat 3B landings?), the demise of ba mainline at other airports, the flogging off of ba conair......and now they can't even afford to maintain the iconic 'Concorde roundabout'. They've truly had their day.
Fly ba? No b£oody way - NEVER!
"What a fat ugly thing"
Can't help feeling that a certain PM of a few years ago would have had wee Willie in for a sound handbagging if she'd learned of the idea.
What's ba.com?
ba apologists love to trot out the phrase "It's gone, let's move on" about Concorde. But the truth is that they've got absolutely no unique selling point nowadays - catering strikes, cabin crew threatening to strike, massive cancellations during the fog last December (and who pioneered Cat 3B landings?), the demise of ba mainline at other airports, the flogging off of ba conair......and now they can't even afford to maintain the iconic 'Concorde roundabout'. They've truly had their day.
Fly ba? No b£oody way - NEVER!
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I'm certainly no BA apologist, not sure what gave you that idea Beags.
Keeping the Concorde replica there was anachronistic at the least. Worse, it could remind passengers of exactly the point you make....
Surely having a mock up of a no-longer flying airliner isn't a unique selling point? When Concorde finished its career it became nothing more than an expensive Airfix kit. They might as well have had a model of a Handley Page HP42, or a Comet.
Keeping the Concorde replica there was anachronistic at the least. Worse, it could remind passengers of exactly the point you make....
they've got absolutely no unique selling point nowadays
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Not really interested in a model of the aircraft on a traffic roundabout, there's more important things going on in the industry than this. I'd sooner the £1.5m was given to the museums that look after the real thing to keep them nice and shiny and in the BA livery. To be honest this thread looks like BEagle using another opportunity to spit bile about BA, nothings changed there.
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Slightly more interesting than the model Concorde at Heathrow is the real deal, Concorde G-BOAB rusting away outside the maintenance base at Hatton Cross. Surely that's worth saving!
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This is an interesting debate. Why should the model of concorde be kept? For the same reason we build statues of long dead national heroes, for the same reason we take our children to museums, for the same reason we save old aircraft like the Lancaster and spitfire flying..........because we have a proud history of success in this nation and consigning everything to a history book and without any visual reminders we will become exactly what some in high place want us to be; a bland and soulless nation without any character. It might cost 1.5 million, which is a price worth paying for all the millions of visitors that pass by and are reminded that the UK once lead the world in a certain area of aviation. Maybe the lottery should pay for it to stay?
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