Posted on: Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Concorde service to resume Nov. 7

By Jamey Keaten
Associated Press

PARIS — Air France and British Airways yesterday said they would resume Concorde service on Nov. 7, some 15 months after the supersonic jet was grounded by a deadly crash.

Both companies said the return of Concorde flights to New York reflected confidence in the future of the aviation industry in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Concorde's return to New York is symbolic of Air France's tribute to the people of this city, to their strength and their strong resolve to rebuild," Air France chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta said in the statement.

British Airways chief executive Ron Eddington said, "We hope Concorde will play a major part in rebuilding confidence in New York and demonstrating that it is business as usual between the U.K. and the U.S.A."

Air France grounded its Concorde fleet after a crash in the Paris suburb of Gonesse on July 25, 2000, that killed 109 people on the plane and four on the ground. Britain followed suit weeks later.

The French carrier said in a statement that the Concorde will "once again be back in the skies" starting Nov. 7. In London, British Airways confirmed it would begin flights the same day.

On Tuesday, British Airways will start booking six Concorde flights per week between New York and London. It will also operate one weekly flight between London and Barbados from Dec. 1 through mid-April of next year.

Air France plans to operate five weekly flights between Paris and New York.

Investigators into the Concorde crash say a stray strip of metal on the runway punctured one of the plane's high-pressure tires, which blew a hole in a fuel tank and started a fire.

Improvements ordered by civil aviation authorities in France and Britain include a strengthened fuel tank liner and stronger tires.

Between them, British Airways and Air France have a dozen Concordes, and there are no plans to produce new ones.