AÉROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE: RACING THE SUN

Concorde was the only commercial plane that could race the sun. If it departed London at 10 am local time, it reached New York before 10 am local time.

- JOSEPH NORONHA

CONCORDE THE WORD IN FRENCH MEANS AGREEMENT, harmony or union. It was therefore appropriate that this name, proposed by an eighteen-year-old British youth for the world’s only successful supersonic transport aircraft (SST), was publicly announced by France’s President Charles de Gaulle. The project to build Concorde was one of the most significant examples of Anglo-French technological and business cooperation ever.

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Construction of the six prototypes began in February 1965. A 1967 advertisement rather optimistically predicted a market for 350 aircraft by 1980. The manufacturers did receive around 100 option orders from many airlines, including two from Air India. However, the development cost was so great – around £1.5 billion against the initial estimate of £70 million – that it could never be recovered. Finally just 20 Concordes were built and only 14 were delivered – 7 each to Air France and British Airways. Both the British and French governments took a substantial financial hit on this account.