‘WHAT’S great about it is I’m able to take my children to school at 8.30 in the morning, drop them off, then take BA flight 001 at 10.30am to New York, and get there at 9.30am, in time for my WeightWatchers meetings and speeches." So declared Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, rhapsodising about one of the 20th century’s most luxurious ways to travel - by Concorde.
The supersonic aeroplane has gone down in history as simply the best way to cross the Atlantic. It was the physical embodiment of the businessman’s phrase "time is money". If you had the money, Concorde would save you the time, and do it in style.
Sipping champagne as you broke the sound barrier with Paul McCartney leading passengers in an impromptu singing of Beatles songs could only have happened on Concorde. Only thanks to Concorde could Phil Collins play London and Philadelphia on the same day as part of Live Aid. Only by Concorde would countless rock stars, actors, captains of industry and political leaders fly transatlantic. And why, as Joan Collins put it, would anyone want to travel another way?
Of course it came at a price - an average of £6000 return - but it’s one which millions (2.5 million on BA’s Concordes) have willingly paid. From Friday, though, it will no longer be available. The last three commercially operated Concordes are being grounded as the age of supersonic travel finally comes to an end.
The reasons are threefold. Three years ago in July, an Air France Concorde crashed in Gonesse, a Paris suburb. All 109 people on board were killed, plus four people on the ground. A 17-month suspension of both the UK and French fleets’ services followed and £35 million worth of repairs and upgrades were carried out. But the dent in confidence could not be repaired. Then came the September 11 terrorist attack on New York where it has been reported 40 of Concorde’s most regular flyers were killed. On top of that, the whole air industry suffered almost complete collapse as people stopped flying. Concorde was no longer viable.
But without it how will the rich and famous travel? And what will those who saved up over the years for the trip of a lifetime now aim to spend their hard-earned cash on? Where does the traveller in search of luxury go from here?
They could try first class on regular jumbos jets, of course. But BA has just confirmed the closure of first class on six of its services. The blame was put on decreasing sales - the average prices for a business fare between London and New York are around £4600 compared with £7300 for first class. As a spokeswoman says: "It is no great secret that the premium travel market has decreased significantly over the last two or three years. That’s the reason Concorde is having to go out of service." In true Richard Branson-style, though, Virgin Atlantic is aiming to plug the gap left by Concorde with a semi-private jet service across the Atlantic. Virgin Jetset will target previous Concorde customers and fly between London, New York, Washington and Los Angeles at a reported return fare of around £4600.
Then there are the leasing companies and package operators who aim to ensure the skies will still be awash with champagne after Concorde has gone. For travel by executive jet is becoming less rarefied.
With airports becoming more and more congested, the demand for private jets is increasing, particularly for short breaks. It seems convenience is becoming an important motivation and the two-hour check-in is a long-term turn-off.
Mike Bevens, sales and marketing director of Jeffersons, a tour operator set up in London last year to specialise exclusively in holidays by private jet, says: "Our timing was very good. We can offer people peace of mind and the ease of flying from regional airports."
For instance, he says, Jeffersons can arrange holidays to 30 hotels in eight countries in Europe. Prices start at £1995 per person for a three-night break but that includes champagne and canapes in the aircraft and limousine transfers.
Bevens says they had no idea of the size of the potential market because nobody had done what they are doing before, but that the two key target groups are people making one-off trips to celebrate a special occasion, and the rich who would never think of travelling any other way. So far he says, their business has split evenly between the two. Meanwhile, NetJets Europe is aiming to get luxury travellers to invest in their own jet. But instead of a company or an individual forking out £24m for a Gulfstream V, he or she pays £3.2m for an eighth of the plane. NetJets also offers speedy check-in and immigration by using smaller airports such as Northolt near London and Teterboro near New York.
And the jets are available pretty much on demand: "I have to guarantee a plane within six to ten hours after you call me," says Mark Booth, chief executive of NetJets Europe. "Otherwise, what’s the point?"
Even the Orient Express has got in on the act. The company best known for luxury rail travel has launched its own private jet programmes to properties in Europe and South America this spring - and a seven-night jaunt costs £11,750. Other operators getting into the private air travel market are Bookajet, used by Posh and Becks, and Swiss members-only airline Club Airways.
The big airlines are keeping a close eye on the private aviation market. "It would be naive not to regard business jets as competitors," says Martin George, marketing director of BA. BA is also looking at expediting the check-in process by speeding up immigration checks through quicker scanning. It will give its front-of-plane travellers the chance to check in and get boarding passes before they arrive at Heathrow in a trial next year.
Of course, while jets are quick, they are not roomy. So a new generation of jets capable of non-stop intercontinental travel are being fitted out with beds, showers and satellite TV, offering a level of comfort that Concorde passengers could merely dream of. Private aircraft brokers such as Air Partner will lease a luxurious Boeing business jet to clients for £140,000 which, if all 28 spacious seats are filled, comes in at £5000 a head. The aircraft is based on the 737 design which airlines normally pack with more than 100 passengers.
Air Partners’ clients have included the likes of Manchester United and Tom Cruise, but company representative David Macdonald says: "The sector is opening up and more people are considering private jets than ever before. Our turnover was up 14 per cent last year."
He says many people who flew Concorde would now be looking to go private. The sentiment is echoed by Aurelie Brachereau, of PrivatAir, which operates a transatlantic flight using Boeing business jets. It offers Concorde-like service, but with superior accommodation, all for under £4000. Brachereau says: "This is the future of executive flight. People check in quickly and can be off the plane and in a New York cab ten minutes after arrival."
However, if the luxury traveller is not interested in speed, or even crossing continents, there are other options. The Tia Moana and Tua Moana, for instance, are custom-built superyachts which cruise French Polynesia, taking in the lagoon-encircled islands of Bora Bora and Raitea.
Each yacht takes up to 74 guests in air-conditioned cabins with Starck bathrooms, panoramic windows, CD systems and flat-screen TV/DVD. Ten nights will set you back £3620, including flights.
Or they could take the train. Chartering the Royal Scotsman with its Edwardian-style carriages, can be done for one, two, three or four nights. It can be hired for 36 people and passengers sleep in state cabins with marquetry mahogany interiors and en suite facilities. An observation car permits Highland scenery-gazing; two gourmet dining cars are also available, all from £550 per night.
Finally, there’s cruising. And which vessel could be better for cruising the Caribbean in the winter than the Christina O, the ship where Aristotle Onassis romanced Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy. Now restored to her former glory following a multi-million pound refit, you can sleep in the Onassis suite or one of 18 guest state rooms, sip champagne cocktails in Harry’s Bar, tinkle the Steinway or swim in the pool - which turns into a dance floor. All for £31,625 per day for 12 passengers.
But if it’s flight you’re after then the next significant innovations in luxury air travel are still a few years away. The double-deck Airbus A380 starts flying in 2007 and is expected to offer 555 seats. It has also been heralded as the possible solution to allowing passengers lounge areas on board. Singapore Airlines’ focus groups have apparently shown that "the ability to move around more when they are on the aircraft" is uppermost on the wish-list for luxury travel passengers.
Or there’s the new "super-Concorde". Japanese researchers have developed the NEXST, described as a "winged javelin", which will fly at twice the speed of sound, travelling twice as far as Concorde and with three times as many passengers.
The boom from the supersonic jet will also be reduced to the noise level of a Boeing 747, and emissions cut 75 per cent. However, the National Aeronautics Laboratory does not expect the jet to be ready for commercial flights until 2012.
That’ll be some wait in the airport gold club card members’ lounge.
Concorde remembered FLYING on Concorde is an experience those on board never forget, and one which many celebrities have insisted on repeating time after time. For those lesser mortals for whom it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity though, their time on the supersonic jet seems all the more precious.
For Richard Street, a 30-year-old training consultant with Intelligent Finance, winning a return trip to New York on Concorde last year was the ultimate travelling experience on a graceful aircraft.
"My flight was phenomenal, technically amazing and outstanding in luxury. My father and I were wined and dined for three-and-a-half hours with the premier wine, champagne and the finest foods imaginable. Everyone got the VIP treatment to the extent that there was a red carpet in JFK airport for Concorde passengers to walk along.
"The views from the aircraft were fantastic as it flies much higher than standard jets. As 60,000 feet the sky line was much darker and you could see the curvature of the globe - it was an extraordinary and truly memorable sight. It’s tragic that Concorde will be no more and people won’t get to experience what I did. It’s sad to think it will be no more and I am glad I got the chance to fly on the aircraft".
For 30-year-old Judith Holmes, from Inverleith, her trip on Concorde was a present from her parents on her 21st birthday.
"It was a year of celebrations - it was my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary, the 20th year of their business and my 21st, so it was decided we should all go on Concorde," says the interior designer. "It wasn’t a scheduled flight, more a one-off to Venice, where we flew out on Concorde and back on another plane.
"We got on at Heathrow. It was quite a small plane inside but it really was lovely. The champagne was flowing and because we were celebrating they gave us bottles to take away with us. We also got goodie bags with a model of the plane inside and lots of other lovely things.
"The service was fantastic, the food was all on nice china and it was real cutlery. We all felt really spoilt - it was a real experience."
She adds: "We went supersonic over the Bay of Biscay. There’s a monitor which tells you when hit Mach 2, and if you touched the side of the plane or the window it was extremely hot. We also got to go up to the cockpit because I was so interested in it all.
"I am absolutely gutted that Concorde won’t be flying anymore."
Robert Binnie, 26, a manager with Standard Life, was 13 when he went on Concorde - a round trip from Edinburgh and back again over the Norwegian coast. "It was a surprise present for me and it was the most awesome experience of my life. The take-off threw you back in your seat, and it did the same again when it reached Mach 2. There was champagne and caviar being served, but I think I got a juice. I am very sad that I won’t get to travel on it again."
