Supersonic Concorde may fly again by 2019

Club Concorde, a group of ambitious enthusiasts comprising former Concorde pilots, charterers and frequent fliers, is set to bring back the retired passenger jet which was decommissioned in 2003.

Operated by the British Airways and Air France, Concorde flew for the last time on October 24 2003. While British Airways and Air France have no plans to resume Concorde flights, Club Concorde hope to resume flights by 2019, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Concorde flight. The group believes they now have adequate financial support to independently bring back the supersonic jet.

The group has two aims; firstly, to place one aircraft on display on a purpose-built platform by the London eye above the Thames. Secondly, they want to employ another aircraft in their Return to Flight project.

The group hopes to purchase a Concorde stationed near Orly Airport in Paris to place it as the main draw in their £16-a-head London tourist attraction by 2017, which will also include a restaurant that will serve the dishes originally served on Concorde flights.

Although, getting the Concorde back in the skies will be rather more difficult, the club wants to use their funds to purchase a Concorde presently on display at Le Bourget airport in Paris, hoping to deploy the plane for use in fly-pasts at air shows, for corporate and special events, as well as charter flights.

Moreover, as efforts to revive Concorde continue, a number of other companies are also seeking to inaugurate commercial supersonic flights, such as Airbus who plan to  launch a “Concorde Mark 2″, a supersonic jet that can fly from London to New York in one hour.

In July 2000, both Air France and British Airways grounded their fleets for more than a year after 113 people died when one of the Concorde jets crashed minutes after takeoff from Paris.