Concorde bows out in style as Jet-set’s taxi

From royalty to pop stars, tycoons to supermodels, if you’re rich, famous or just in a hurry, Concorde has been the only way to jet acr...

From royalty to pop stars, tycoons to supermodels, if you’re rich, famous or just in a hurry, Concorde has been the only way to jet across the Atlantic in style for more than a quarter of a century.

Most of the supersonic plane’s blue leather seats were filled by businessmen and investment bankers, who could make the three-and-a-half-hour trip from London to New York, sign a deal and make it back in time for dinner.

Last seats bought for $60,300

CHICAGO: A man from Ohio who bid $60,300 bought the last two seats on this week’s final flight of the Concorde. David Hayes said he was anticipating Friday’s British Airways flight but under the rules of the charity auction he cannot comment until he appears on NBC’s ‘Today’ show to claim the tickets. The auction, arranged by ‘Today,’ ran on eBay Inc from October 13 to Monday.

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In addition to the two seats on the supersonic jet’s final scheduled flight from New York to London, the winning bid came with two nights in an unidentified New York hotel, a chauffeured limousine to John F. Kennedy International Airport, ringside seats at the aircraft’s decommissioning ceremony at the London Heathrow Airport, one night in a four-star London hotel and a return flight to New York on a standard British Airways flight, business class. (Reuters)

The most frequent flyer of Concorde, which retires from commercial service on Friday, is the US oil tycoon Fred Finn, who has clocked up about 70 trans-Atlantic round trips a year. But the men in suits were always upstaged by stars from the world of show business who queued up to quaff champagne and nibble on caviar while shuttling across the Atlantic faster than a rifle bullet.

A last plane load of VIPs and frequent flyers will cram into Concorde’s final passenger flight on Friday under British Airways, resting their rears where more than a few celebrities have been before.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney once famously played the guitar aboard Concorde one Christmas, sparking an impromptu singalong among the well-heeled passengers.

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Fellow band member, the late George Harrison, once gave a spur-of-the-moment concert at the Concorde departure lounge in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. Other high-flyers to have warmed Concorde’s seats include Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Trade, tech, defence, EU strategic roadmap for India, India-EU FTA, India-EU free trade agreement, Ursula von der Leyen, Indian express news, current affairs

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