SUPERSONIC

Sonic BOOM

It’s 50 years since Concorde first flew faster than the speed of sound and changed aviation history, and 22 years since it was grounded – but plans are now afoot to bring supersonic travel back…

by BENJIE GOODHART

High flyers Concorde landing for the last time at Heathrow in 2003.

When the writers of 2024’s TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals were searching for an opening scene to exemplify the wealth, glamour and excess of the Eighties, only one setting would suffice: Concorde, the supersonic social scene at 60,000ft. More than two decades after it last flew, it remains the most iconic passenger plane in aviation history, beloved of celebrities, politicians and titans of industry – not to mention the jet that today’s developers are desperately trying to emulate. The Holy Grail is a plane that can reach the same speeds as Concorde once did but without the almighty racket – and aviation companies are getting closer to producing one.

Concorde made its maiden commercial flight 50 years ago, at 11.40am on 21 January 1976, when a British Airways flight took off from London Heathrow to Bahrain and, simultaneously, an Air France flight left Paris Orly Airport for Rio de Janeiro.

With its plush leather seats, fine dining and extensive wine lists, Concorde became a celebrity playground. Some of its regular fliers included Sir Elton John, Dame Joan Collins, Michael Jackson, and Sir Paul McCartney, who often led passengers in a singalong on his guitar. Cindy Crawford once fell asleep before take-off and ‘woke up an hour later to find Mick Jagger sitting next to me’. Sir David Frost, who flew on Concorde approximately 300 times, quipped: ‘You can be in London at 10 o’clock and in New York at 10 o’clock. I have never found another way of being in two places at once.’