BA may clip Concorde’s wings and sell her to Dubai

Forty years ago tomorrow, the British version of the graceful delta-winged aircraft took to the skies on its maiden flight. Yet the anniversary celebrations will be overshadowed for many Concorde enthusiasts by the disclosure that British Airways may betray a promise to put a Concorde on public display at Heathrow and instead cut it into pieces and ship it to the Gulf. A Dubai-based consortium, advised by former BA Concorde crew, is planning to turn the aircraft into a tourist attraction, possibly on one of the manmade palm-shaped islands. It would be jointly marketed with the QE2, which was sold to Dubai last year to become a floating hotel. The aircraft’s wings would have to be sliced off before it could be loaded on to a ship. BA ordered in 2003 that Concorde’s systems should be disabled. Jock Lowe, the marque’s former chief pilot, accused the airline at the time of undermining efforts to operate heritage flights. Despite making up to £20 million profit a year from Concorde during 27 years of commercial flights, BA is refusing to help any of the groups seeking to get the aircraft back in the air. It has repeatedly rejected requests to publish a feasibility study.

Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6054915.ece