London : A group of British aviation enthusiasts has raised enough funds to buy a Concorde, the discontinued supersonic passenger plane, with the aim of getting it flying again by 2019.
Club Concorde, made up of former captains, charterers and aviation fans, says it has 120 million pounds in reserve for the “return to flight” and plans to buy the first aircraft soon.
The group also plans to put another of the supersonic aircraft on permanent display in central London. The supersonic passenger plane, which can travel at twice the speed of sound, was originally operated by British Airways and Air France, but was discontinued in 2003 after it proved to expensive to operate.
“We have been overwhelmed by the amount of enthusiasm and people wanting to invest,” Club Concorde president Paul James was quoted as saying by BBC. “The support shows how much people still admire Concorde and want to see it flying again. The plane we would like to get in the air is at Le Bourget in Paris,” he said.
“We had wanted to lease and restore a British Airways Concorde for display in London – next to the London Eye – but this has not been possible, so again we are looking to France and a Concorde near Orly airport.”
Negotiations are now under way to try to purchase or lease two aircraft.
James said they were hoping to source both the display and flight jets from France but no agreements have been struck yet.
After restoration the plane would be used at airshows, for special events and private charter, he said.
James said he was confident a plane would be secured and hoped flights would start by 2019 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Concorde’s first flight.
Aditi Khanna
