Trip Report with Photos by The Travel Scholar (Page 4 of 8)
The Landing
Our descent into London seemed to come all too quickly, due to both the usually short duration of the New York to London journey and the thrill of a once-in-a-lifetime flying experience. Even the captain had a bit of fun. A few minutes out from London, the captain made this announcement:
"Okay, we're flying over my house just now, so I think this calls for a bit of noise. Hang on in the back..."
With that, he turned up the throttle, sending empty champagne glasses sliding towards unsuspecting passengers and standing crew grasping for their balance. Feeling the acceleration certainly put a smile on my face! After about ten seconds of fun, the captain apologised:
"Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but boys will be boys."
Everyone, and especially the bemused crew, smiled and laughed as our flight drew near to its end.
The captain then made some closing remarks about the grounding of Concorde in the fall and how much he would miss flying her. He thanked us all for flying with him and offered his congratulations to all who had made it on-board Concorde for the first time.
| The captain concluded by explaining one last detail that made the Concorde unique: the "droop nose," which allows the flight crew to see the runway for landing (and takeoff as well), despite Concorde's greater upward pitch during her approach. I really appreciated all of the information that the captain provided about the flight. As the ground crept up from below, the bulkhead cabin displays switched to "Thank You for flying Concorde." And a few moments later, the landing gear was lowered into position and condensation began to rush over the wings. The landing was very graceful as Concorde glided down to earth for a smooth touch-down. Once on the ground, the captain threw the reverse thrusters into gear and made the slow to taxi a great way to end our flight with one final rush. Once we approached the stand and the jetty was in position, everyone gathered their belongings and deplaned. Many were already talking amongst themselves about the flight and how much the experience was worth having done. I couldn't agree more. |
|
A Special Visit
During the flight, I asked the Cabin Services Director (CSD) if they had any Concorde gifts or flight certificates available for a first-time passenger. With regrets, he informed me that their supply of gifts and flight certificates had been exhausted due to the recent increase in passenger loads after the announcement of Concorde's retirement. Luckily, I had come prepared with my own flight certificate, which I had obtained in a Concorde writing kit folder prior to my flight. The CSD invited me for a cockpit visit in lieu of the out-of-stock Concorde gift.
I waited a few moments out on the jetty in a queue of a few other passengers who had also requested a visit to the flight deck. Once inside, one of the flight attendants happily obliged to take a photo. The captain signed my flight certificate, and we talked for a few moments about how disappointing it would be to see Concorde grounded, especially after having enjoyed such a wonderful flight.
The flight crew for
my BA 002 flight on 01 May 2003 were:
Captain Adrian Thompson, SFO Peter Benn, and SEO Warren Hazelby.
 The Travel Scholar with Concorde's captain and first officer. |
 Close-up of Concorde's flight control panel. |
| .  My Concorde boarding card for BA 002 on 01 May 2003, Seat 11D |
|
Arrival in London
Ordinarily, Concorde passengers were invited to use Fast Track immigration services at London Heathrow. However, due to our evening arrival time in London, both Fast Track and the arrival lounge facilities were closed, and by the time I arrived at immigration after my flight deck visit, I was greeted by one of the largest passport control queues I'd ever seen. Disappointed, but still in a good mood from my flight, I prepared myself for a very long wait.
Then, just in time, one of our flight attendants came to the rescue. She gathered all of the remaining Concorde passengers (including myself) from the rear of the queue and whisked us through the crew immigration lane. When I thanked her, she explained that other crew members had done the same for the initial mass of deplaning Concorde passengers so that they also wouldn't have to wait. I thought this was a nice accommodation with Fast Track being closed, and I know I was very relieved to receive the help. Once through immigration, I proceeded to baggage claim and found all of the Concorde bags already offloaded from the belt and waiting for us under the supervision of a BA ground staff member. I gave the flight attendant who saved us from the immigration queues one last word of thanks for her assistance and a great flight, and with that, I headed for the Heathrow Express train to central London. It had been an excellent flight, and less than four hours after leaving New York, I was already starting a weekend of fun before my return flight home, which was scheduled for a few days later.
Here are some final photos of Concorde taken at London Heathrow:
 |
|
PLEASE
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
TO THE RETURN FLIGHT HOME (BA 001)
 |
The
Travel Scholar is presented by Sound
Message, LLC. |