Concorde ‘could fly again by 2019’

If the current aim of the group goes per plan, we can expect the Concorde to start flying again. Club Concorde, as the group is called, is comprised of former pilots and frequent Concorde fliers and charterers that have kept the spirit of the plane alive over the years. The first is a plan to spend £40m to buy one of the 5 remaining Concordes that is now Orly Airport in Paris and create a tourist attraction on the Thames – with the plane turned into a museum-slash-hospitality-venue on a purpose-built stand in the river next to the London Eye by 2017.

Concorde, which can travel at twice the speed of sound, last flew in 2003.

According to Jonathan Glancey, author of Concorde: the Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner, “So many people miss Concorde [and it] could certainly fly again given both financial and technical wings, while from a technical point of view there is nothing a team of expert and motivated engineers can’t tackle”.

Even as efforts are on to bring the Concorde back to life, it is pertinent to note that supersonic commercial flight is back in the reckoning – thanks to the booming airline industry.

A further £120 million reserve fund has been secured to buy and restore an aircraft on display at Le Bourget airport in Paris.

The more ambitious initiative is to purchase the second plane, have it restored, and get it in the air once more.

In addition to eye-catching fly-pasts at air shows the Concorde would be available for private charter flights out of London, such as shuttling F1 enthusiasts to Grand Prix races, reports The Telegraph. While British Airways and Air France have no plans to resume Concorde flights, Club Concorde hope to resume flights by 2019, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Concorde flight.

The group still also needs to secure planning permission but Mr James said they were aiming to have the attraction up and running by 2017 before looking to open a similar display in Paris.

Do you think the Concorde will one day return to the skies?