British Airways declared it had "complete confidence" in its aircraft yesterday as the first Concorde flight since the Air France disaster in Paris touched down in New York without incident after flying out from London's Heathrow Airport.
The airline went ahead with the three and a half hour 10.47 a.m. flight after extensive safety checks on its Concorde fleet. The flight touched down in New York at 2.11 p.m. (G.M.T.) There were no special arrangements for the 49 passengers when they landed, a British Airways spokeswoman told The Irish Times.
In the immediate aftermath of the Concorde crash in France, British Airways had cancelled two Concorde flights from Heathrow. But after security checks overnight, the airline's customer services and operations director, Mr Mike Street, said there was no evidence to suggest its fleet could not operate safely. "We have carried out extensive checks - to engines, airframes, hydraulic and other systems," he said. "We have liased closely with the relevant air safety authorities and the aircraft and engine manufacturers. We believe there is no technical, safety or operational evidence to suggest Concorde should not operate safely in the future."
British Airways operates four Concorde flights between London and New York each day and moved quickly to restore a "business as usual" attitude at Heathrow. Mr Street reflected this when he said British Airways had received no information from Air France or the French and British air authorities "which leads us to believe that we should ground BA's Concorde fleet."
Passengers travelling on flight BA001 from Heathrow were offered the choice of swapping their tickets for first-class seats on other aircraft or a refund. Some 29 passengers declined to take the flight.
One of the passengers who opted out was Mr Bill Bolster, president of the US television network, CNBC. Mr Bolster, who transferred to another aircraft, said his decision was simply an "emotional response" to the Paris air disaster. "This is nothing to do with anything other than an emotional response. I am going to satisfy my emotions and go on another plane," he told reporters. "I have total confidence in the engineers and pilot of this Concorde but I just can't face it."
Another passenger, Mr Brian Pople, decided to take the Concorde flight to New York. "Lightning doesn't strike twice," he said. "From what I can see on the news it was probably something that happened on the ground. They've been using them long enough. It's only happened once in 30 years."