Saturday, June 24, 2000
Photo above courtesy of British Airways
I am trying to fly from London to San Francisco when a massive air traffic control radar failure shuts down all of London’s airports. I watch as flight after flight is delayed, delayed, delayed, and then cancelled. Mine’s on its third delay when I notice they are readying the Concorde for take-off. I asked the BA lounge attendant if there was room on the Concorde ... “Yes.” Can you put me on the flight, I ask. “Sure, no problem.” Thus begins a dream flight for me.
There was some drama arriving in New York when I discover there is no onward connection to San Francisco booked for me. But the inconvenience was amply offset by the fact the BA didn’t charge me extra for my flight on the Concorde.
When you expand the photo above, you can see our speed (1,300 mph or mach 2.0), altitude, and outside air temperature. Unarguably cool!
The Rest of the Story: The experience was more, and less, than I expected. The cabin is quiet and the flight very smooth. I was able to balance a nickle on its edge on my tray table without vibration or turbulence knocking it over. It doesn’t feel like you’re going fast. The sky is a very dark blue, nearing black above. You can see the curvature of the earth. But the cabin is cramped, a bit like an MD-80. The food was so so. And landing in New York, the JFK terminal was just as shoddy, confusing, and chaotic as ever. So the Concorde didn’t cure all the ills of the world. No one on the planet needs this. But it was great fun for me!
Posted by Digital Quixote in
• Planes
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