At 4.07pm, on Friday 24th October 2003, Concorde's supersonic reign came to an end as flight BA002 from New York glided, gracefully, into Heathrow Airport for the very last time. Three days prior to that final flight, Neil had the trip of a lifetime!...
I watched the news reports that evening, watched flight BA002 (and the other 2 concordes coming in to land) with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. The mad thing is that if it weren't for the fact that 3 days prior to Friday I was tucking into poached salmon and guzzling pink champagne at twice the speed of sound, I would've been thinking 'what's all the fuss about?'
Yep, thanks to my bestest buddy, Nigel, I can now claim to be among the last thousand people to have flown on this magnificent bird.
Yeah, so anyway, when Me and Rob went down to Brighton for Pride this year, Nigel told me about this competition he'd won and would I like to go on Concorde with him? Yeah, I thought, I like flying so why not? without realising the full importance of the trip. To me it was just another aircraft but then the closer it got to the trip and the more I heard on the news and read in the papers, it started to sink in as to just how much of a deal this really was, this really was a big f**king deal. I've flown at twice the speed of sound, for f**ks sake (and as Nigel merrily informed anyone who was at home to answer their phones that evening, he has pissed at twice the speed of sound!!!).
It wasn't just the flight that was fantastic. The whole day was perfect, from the moment we arrived at Gatwick airport to our return in the evening. We were treated like royalty.
Our Concorde tour took off from Belfast so our first flight of the day was to Ireland. We checked in at Gatwick and were then escorted to BA's Executive lounge. Geez, how the other half live!!! It was ok for Nigel 'cos he travels alot and spends alot of time in these lounges but for me, I was like a kid in a candy store! I knew there'd be free drink but I assumed that you'd have a barman to pour it - no sirree- you just helped yourself and poured away to your hearts content!
So, anyway, one large Vodka and orange and two very liberally poured Bloody Marys later, it was time to fly to Belfast. Ireland looked very pretty flying in, I'd like to see more of it one day. Anyway, arrival at Belfast and then up to the (somewhat smaller) executive lounge where the Chief Captain, Mike Bannister, mingled with the travellers, signed autographs and where the champagne flowed (and flowed and flowed!!!).
Due to a, erm, slight technical hitch (pre-flight checks revealed only 2 out of the 3 navigational systems were working!) we were held in the lounge for another hour but the problem was soon fixed and it was time to fly!
I don't know how to describe it.It was the greatest flight of my life. I've never experienced such a fast and smooth take off and as for the whole 'speed' thing... I was tucking into my poached salmon when the Captain announced that we'd broken the sound barrier. If it weren't for him mentioning it I don't think I would've actually realised it. You hardly feel a thing. It was incredible. The Captain was really cool and narrated the whole flight, explaining the speeds, our altitude, what was happening with the nose cone etc.
The delay in leaving Belfast actualy worked to our advantage as it meant coming into London after sundown. London looked so beautiful from up there, all lit up.
Landing was sad. It was all over. Not just for the passengers but the cabin crew aswell (who, by the way, were fantastic and total heroes!). Turned out that our flight was also their last and it all got a bit emotional.
I think what made our flight so special is that most of the one hundred passengers were, like us, competition winners. Ordinary folk who could never have afforded an experience like this in a hundred years. Not a group of champagne guzzling, caviar scoffing elite, but a fantastic bunch of appreciative working class folk who, like me, are probably still pinching themselves.....
Even though I should've left you on that last poetical note, I just wanted to share something with you from The Independant newspaper on Saturday 25 October. Written by Simon Kelner, it just shows what complete misbehaved prats some 'celebrities' can be sometimes (or in Jeremy Clarkson's case, MOST of the time). Mr Kelner (who's writing I do enjoy) was describing that final flight, BA002 from New York to London Heathrow on 24 October....
<<< End of the day. On the coach heading back to Gatwick and totally knackered. This celebrity lifestyle can really take it out of you!
" ...Concorde, with its cargo of captains of industry, celebrities, frequent flyers, and, at the back of the plane, hacks, had taken off from New York at 7.37am local time. On boarding the plane, I heard the apothoesis of that annoying mobile phone call: the model Jodie Kidd was shouting into her phone "I am on the Concorde".
The other celebrities - Sir David Frost, Joan Collins, Chistie Brinkley, Darcey Bussell - behaved impeccably, apart from Jeremy Clarkson, who threw a glass of water over Piers Morgan, the Editor of The Daily Mirror. Clarkson was apparently upset about some photographs in Mr Morgan's journal...."
Jeremy Clarkson, a total arse of a man who really doesn't deserve his status. Anyway, that's all, I'm off now, just wanted to say a massive 'thank you' (and lots of manly kisses to Nigel for giving me the chance of a lifetime (it did mean a hell of a lot - even if I did remain totally reserved throughout and didn't show my excitement!)....
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