Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON
British Airways is reluctant to commit to a firm date for re-introducing commercial Concorde services, saying only that it hopes to begin daily London-New York flights "in the late spring".
The reluctance stems from the uncertainties about the programme, says Jim O'Sullivan, technical and quality director of British Airways Engineering. "We have a series of 'gates' to negotiate in the installation and flight test programmes, any one of which could affect the schedule." He adds: "This is not a 'hell for leather' dash to get the aircraft back into service, and if anything new comes from the Paris accident investigation then we will delay the work."
Concorde chief pilot Captain Mike Bannister says: "If all goes well, we hope to limit the flight testing of the modifications to one or perhaps two flights from Heathrow over unpopulated areas.
"The flights will effectively be data collection exercises," he adds.
One area to be examined is the effect that the linings might have on the vital skin-cooling function that the fuel provides for Concorde when supersonic. The liner's design and installation will enable fuel to lie between it and the wing skin so the cooling function will work.
BA hopes that the modifications will not reduce Concorde's payload significantly. It is envisaged that the aircraft's nominal 100-seat capacity could on occasion be reduced by up to four passengers, depending on weather conditions. "We may remove a row of [four] seats and use the space for something else, but that is not currently the plan," says O'Sullivan.
Satisfactorily completing flight testing, and return of Concorde's certificate of airworthiness, will clear the way for crew training and route proving to take place before resuming service to New York in the late spring, says Bannister. "We will add a second daily New York service later in the year, and the seasonal Barbados service at year-end," he adds. The London-Barbados sector is at the extreme of Concorde's range, and the modifications could prevent this route from being operated if their effect on performance is too great.
Charters represent around 10% of Concorde's operations, and are the lowest priority for resumption. "We are still to decide what will happen with the charter business. We will look at that further down the line," says Bannister.
Source: Flight International
