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Elegance In Flight: Bring Back the Concorde!

February 23, 2009 at 11:34 AM | by | Comment (1)

Flying these days just ain't what it used to be. Nobody gets dressed up any more, security proceedings just moved from vaguely creepy to downright invasive and four ounces of shampoo is apparently a dangerous weapon on a plane. But what the International Herald Tribune misses most these days is the Concorde -- the graceful jet of yesteryear replaced by the pot-bellied planes of today.

The Herald Tribune credits the aircraft for its unique and idiosyncratic design, its incredible speed and its "timelessness." We never got to fly on one, but they have a point: That easily spotted needlenose, unlike features on more squat, thick jets, contributed to rather than detracting from its purpose of ferrying passengers across the Atlantic as fast as possible.

The Concorde flew its last flight in 2003 after post-9/11 jitters and a 2000 Gonesse, France crash sapped it of its previous allure. But how could a plane that could do the New York-London route in under 4 hours lose its appeal so quickly? Were we too quick to bury the Concorde? Maybe its speed and efficiency are just what the airline industry needs, not a fleet of short-haul jumpers.

Remember, before the 2000 crash the Concorde had never had an accident in 30 years of flying -- and it looked damn good doing it.

Related Stories:
· Celebrating the Concorde's streamlined beauty [International Herald Tribune]
· Throwback Travel: A Concorde Slideshow [Jaunted]
· The Royal Mail Has Your Concorde Fix [Jaunted]

[Photo: Les Chatfield]

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Speed? Yes. Efficiency? Hardly.

The Concorde stopped flying because it wasn't economically viable. It guzzled fuel like crazy and required something like triple the maintenance of a regular jet. Still, it was a beautiful bird. It's odd that aviation is the one area of technology where we've stopped going faster. The speed at which you fly today just might be as fast as you'll ever go.
Victor Ozols on February 23, 2009 at 11:58 AM #Permalink

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