NYTimes.com Article: Concorde Passenger Flights Resume

[khare@w3.org]

This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by khare@w3.org.


Congrats! -- now, where did 1) Dan Kohn bury that 502216250ff coupon link? and 2) who has any plausible excuse to go to London or Paris -- and admit that the door-to-door time from the West Coast doesn't budge a minute?

Waiting for the TAV to Tokyo, but settling for the polar route to New Delhi,
  Rohit

khare@w3.org


Concorde Passenger Flights Resume

November 7, 2001 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


 

Filed at 5:19 a.m. ET 



PARIS (AP) -- More than 15 months after a Concorde crashed
in a ball of flames, the world's only supersonic jetliner
returned to the skies Wednesday -- making a long-awaited
commercial comeback during one of the worst slumps in
aviation history. 

Revamped to address safety concerns, the Air France
Concorde, with 92 passengers aboard, took off from Charles
de Gaulle airport near Paris at 10:47 a.m. for the three
hour, 55 minute-flight to New York. 

To show their confidence, French Transport Minister
Jean-Claude Gayssot and Air France chairman Jean-Cyril
Spinetta were aboard the passenger flight -- the first
since the July 25, 2000, crash that killed 113 people
outside Paris. 

``This is the greatest tribute we can pay to the 113 people
who lost their lives, and to whom I dedicate this flight,''
Spinetta said before the takeoff. 

About an hour later, British Airways, the other airline
that flies the Concorde, planned an invitation-only flight
from London; its fare-paying flights to New York resume
Friday. 

In a third Concorde flight Wednesday, British Prime
Minister Tony Blair was taking a special charter to
Washington to meet with President Bush. 

Engineers say they have fixed the flaws that led to the
crash -- the first in the Concorde's 25-year history. There
also was a nod to safety concerns following the Sept. 11
terror attacks: fine silver has been replaced with plastic
cutlery. 

Security was tight on Wednesday as passengers checked in
for the Paris-New York flight. Airline employees wearing
white plastic gloves searched luggage, and armed police
patrolled the check-in area. Fire trucks surrounded the
plane on the runway as a precaution. 

Among the Concorde regulars lining up for the flight was
perfume company founder Jean-Paul Guerlain, who said he'd
flown the Concorde more than 200 times. 

``I swore after the crash that I would fly again on the
first flight,'' he said. ``It's the most wonderful plane. I
never lost confidence, and I have no fear.'' 

The new Concorde has been fitted with fuel-tank liners of
bulletproof Kevlar, a flameproof reinforced undercarriage
and extra-resistant radial tires. 

The tires, designed by French firm Michelin, passed
rigorous tests, including one that revved the wheel faster
than 250 mph -- the Concorde's speed at takeoff -- and
injected it with a titanium blade. The July 2000 crash has
been widely blamed on a ruptured tire that sent debris
flying into a fuel tank, though officials have not yet
named a cause. 

``We have never been able to make this tire blow up, under
any circumstance,'' Pierre Desmarets, chief executive of
Michelin Aircraft Tire Division, told Associated Press
Television News. 

But equally important to the engineering changes, aviation
analysts say, is the symbolism of the Concorde reclaiming
the skies. 

``One of the icons of the civil aviation industry is
returning,'' said Chris Yates, aviation safety editor at
Jane's Transport in London. ``It's the shot in the arm that
the industry needs at this moment.'' 

Despite a 30-percent drop in trans-Atlantic travel since
the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the airlines say they are
confident of filling the 100-seat planes. British Airways
says it has already sold 7,000 seats. 

Flying above turbulence at twice the speed of sound, the
Concorde crosses the Atlantic in about half the flying time
of conventional jets. A roundtrip Paris-New York ticket
costs about $7,300, while a London-New York roundtrip is
about $10,000. 

Service is being scaled back -- British Airways and Air
France have each modified three Concordes, allowing for
leeway to determine customer demand. 

Investigators are expected to make their report on the
cause of the crash public by early next year. Officials
have theorized that as the plane raced down the runway, it
hit a metal strip that ruptured a tire and sent debris
hurtling toward a fuel tank, triggering a fire and a fuel
leak. The metal strip is believed to have come from another
jet. 

Along with the safety improvements, the Concordes have a
fresh look inside. British Airways invested $20 million to
redecorate cabin interiors and Concorde lounges. On Air
France, fresh lobster and petits fours will be served. 

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Concordes-Return.html?ex=1006138391&ei=1&en=20328c2c4967a713



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