Museum Of Flight Bids To Capture A Concorde
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday June 18, 2003
PARIS, London, New York ... Nowra.
Improbable though it may sound, this may yet be the final route of one of the last remaining British Airways Concordes, due to retire in October.
Australia's Museum of Flight has made a bid, backed by the Federal Government, to house one of the supersonic airliners and in the process solve its economic woes.
``It would be an enormous advance to our finances if we could secure one," Neil Ralph, museum chairman, said.
Mr Ralph has written to British Airways and received a reply to say that the Nowra museum's bid would be considered by a special committee that would decide the fate of the remaining five British Concordes.
The airline's chief executive, Rod Eddington, announced the end of Concorde on April 10, citing falling passenger revenue and rising maintenance costs for the aircraft.
``Concorde has served us well and we are extremely proud to have flown this marvellous and unique aircraft for the past 27 years," he said.
``This is the end of a fantastic era in world aviation but bringing forward Concorde's retirement is a prudent business decision at a time when we are having to make difficult decisions ... across the airline."
Air France, which also flew Concorde, flew its last flight on May 31.
More than 2.5million passengers have flown on the British Concordes since they started commercial passenger services in 1976.
The world's first supersonic commercial jet flies at more than 2000km/h at 60,000ft and has mainly serviced the route connecting Europe with New York and the Caribbean.
Charter and test flights have taken the Concorde to more than 250 destinations worldwide including - briefly - Australia in the early '70s.
It was often the vehicle for publicity stunts, and was used by drummer Phil Collins to fly from the UK to the United States so he could be the only musician to play in both Live Aid concerts in 1985.
Other passengers have included the Queen Mother, Princess Diana, Joan Collins, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Elton John and Diana Ross.
The plane would almost certainly secure the future of Australia's Museum of Flight, which survives on visitor entrance fees, donations and sponsorships.
It was hit hard by the demise of HIH Insurance, its biggest sponsor, and will discover on Monday if it is to receive a $30,000 grant from Shoalhaven City Council.
The museum is the largest aviation museum in Australia.
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury
