UK: Virgin “inundated” with calls from fans of supersonic aircraft
Richard Branson has stated that he is interested in taking over Concorde services when British Airways retires the supersonic jet later this year.
As reported, Concorde will be retired in October after 27 years in service – and British Airways has stated that it will not sell the fleet to anyone else as it is “part of the fabric of the company”.
But, according to The Independent, Branson claims that when Concorde was sold to BA by the Conservative government in the 1980s, the agreement stated that other carriers would have the chance to run the fleet if they wanted to.
Branson told the newspaper that he has been “inundated” with calls from the public and BA staff, asking him to keep Concorde running: “As a result of the public response today, I will be asking British Airways to provide me with the full operating figures. If Virgin Atlantic believes it can make a success of it, we will be asking British Airways to give us the planes for the same price that they were given them, together with the slots and other facilities that they use.”
He admitted that his plans may fail, but added: “I believe every effort should be made to keep Concorde flying as it is such an important symbol of British innovation.”
