Owned by just two airlines, British Airways and Air France, Concorde was most famous for
its classic route between Europe and New York. Yet in its earlier years, the aircraft had
flown on several routes around the world by both airlines.
The first scheduled flight of a British Airways (BA) Concorde took place on January 21st,
1976, between London and Bahrain. Scheduled passenger flights to Bahrain operated twice-weekly.
Bahrain was selected as it offered connections to other BA flights, which allowed it to act
as a mini-hub. Following its inaugural flight, BA’s Concorde
expanded its services to include the US a few months later. Although Concorde is famed
for flying to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, this was not its first
US destination. In May 1976, both BA and Air France began operating services to Washington.
BA flew three times weekly to Washington Dulles International Airport.
The arrival of Concorde services at JFK was delayed amid concerns about the noise. However,
by November 1977, these concerns had diminished enough to allow regular service to begin.
BA’s other routes included Miami, three times weekly via Washington, which began in
March 1984. There were also seasonal routes, including Barbados during the winter.
For just over a year, BA teamed up with Braniff International in the US, to offer scheduled
supersonic service between Dallas (DFW) and Europe. This partnership was the first of
its kind involving a United States carrier and foreign airlines.
Singapore Airlines offered a joint service with BA for a brief period from 1979 for flights
between Bahrain and Singapore. The Concorde aircraft used had a Singapore livery on one
side, and a BA livery on the other.
Air France’s inaugural flight took place on January 21st, 1976, and was operated between
Paris and Rio de Janeiro via Dakar. This route was flown twice a week between 1976 and 1982.
In April of the same year, air france began weekly flights to Caracas in Venezuela, via
Santa Maria airport in the Azores. Air france also began operating flights to
Washington in May 1976. In November 1977, this was expanded to include flights to New
York five days a week. From 1978 to 1982, Air france also operated a Concorde service
twice a week to Mexico via Washington or New York.
Unfortunately, the high cost of operating these flights, coupled with low demand, meant
that these flights were unsustainable. In 1982, Air France withdrew from all routes
except for a single daily flight to JFK.
Charter flights with the Concorde became extremely popular with enthusiasts and the rich and
famous alike. By the late 1990s, BA was running around 300 charters per year. Air France was
not far behind. For those that could afford it, both airlines
offered chartered flights that were operated by independent tour operators. Passengers
could fly around the world on a series of charter flights that were flown over several
days to allow time for sightseeing. The total flight time was a little over 30 hours, half
of which was operated at supersonic speeds. Package tours were also offered by some travel
companies that combined a transatlantic crossing on the Concorde with a return trip on the
Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner. The airlines also offered short trips to allow
passengers to experience supersonic flight and the luxury first-class treatment of Concorde
flights. These “Trip around the Bay” charters left from various airports in France and Britain
to the Bay of Biscay. These flights were extremely popular, especially with British enthusiasts
and first-time flyers, for both the supersonic experience and the luxury they afforded.
Despite the popularity of the charters, 90% of BA’s profit came from scheduled flights.
The Concorde was retired from service in 2003, with Air France operating its last scheduled
flight in May, followed by British Airways in October.
Did you know about these Concorde destinations? Let us know
in the comments.