DanO1978 wrote:The brass neck of British Airways to put that video together as a promotional tool, after they binned the aircraft, making damn sure a rival would never operate them...
BA had no choice but to ground the aircraft after Airbus withdrew the Type Certificate, so can you and others who say that it is all or partially BA's fault, stop that right now.
The past ten years does not seem to have educated many people who supposedly know the aviation world like the back of their hand. I have heard so many people say that BA should have given the aircraft to Branson thinking that, that would solve all the problems. Well it would not because Branson would have had seven Concordes sat firmly on the ground because the Design Authority (Airbus) withdrew the Type Certificate. No Type Certificate = no fly. Simple as that.
Furthermore, the same people who I hear blaming BA and saying that they did not care about maybe even keeping one flying for heritage flights - well that is untrue as I can categorically say that they were genuinely looking into doing so. Sadly it was realised that it would not be possible. You would still need the help of the Design Authority to support the operation.
Personally, I love the aircraft and have done all my life. I have been lucky enough to have flown on her and I would love to see the aircraft fly again, carrying passengers at Mach 2. However, I am a realist and I accepted the fact that she will never fly again and that the aim should be to get all of the aircraft properly preserved and under cover. The sadness would have been alleviated had a successor been built prior to her leaving service, but that was not to be for reasons to be debated elsewhere.