#Free flight rising breeding cards plus

The supersonic trip would cut flying time to 10 hours, with only a 40-minute refuelling stop in Bahrain. Joint venture with British Airwaysīy late 1977 Singapore Airlines was in negotiation with British Airways to jointly operate a Concorde on the London – Singapore route under a cost and revenue-sharing basis. Ultimately the two sides agreed to a compromise, with Concorde flights from Bahrain to Singapore having to route around the Indian mainland, adding 200 miles to the journey. Even that wasn’t perfect though, with Saudi Arabia withdrawing supersonic permission for Concorde after nomads reported the sonic boom was upsetting their camels, stopping them from breeding! That meant supersonic flight by Concorde was restricted to overwater or sparsely populated land masses like deserts. That was no problem for the passengers sitting on the jet at the head of the ‘Mach cone’, they were moving so fast the sonic boom didn’t have chance to catch up to them.įor those on the ground it was a different matter, creating a 100dB+ sound like an explosion.

Sonic Boom It’s worth mentioning at this point that the problem for Concorde was primarily related to its ‘Sonic Boom’, caused by shock waves when the jet was travelling through the air at Mach 1 or greater. In the 1970s and 80s, it was common for governments to use air traffic agreements as political chess pieces.

#Free flight rising breeding cards plus

On the table was more access to Heathrow slots for Air India, plus ‘fifth freedom’ traffic rights from the London airport, with the airline keen to tap in to the lucrative transatlantic market. In the late 1970s, India refused permission for Concorde to fly over its airspace, blocking a direct routing from Bahrain to Singapore, BA’s proposed extension to an existing service. It didn’t take long for politics to start getting in the way of plans to fly Concorde to and from Asia. India refused overflightīA’s problems weren’t isolated to a ‘forced pact’ with SIA on a future Singapore route. It was proposed that SIA would lease 20 out of 100 seats on each of these flights to address “the likely loss of First Class passengers” on SIA’s own London services. Over a year later, in November 1976, British Airways (BA) was negotiating with the Singapore Government to start a London – Bahrain – Singapore service using Concorde, while the airline was still blocked from flying the jet to and from New York – its most desired route. Two proposed Boeing 747-200s could have been sidelined for a pair of leased Concordes in 19, as part of SIA’s desire to join the supersonic age. The pair of aircraft would have replaced two Boeing 747s the airline had on option for delivery in 19. With a S$100 million price tag per jet (S$257 million in today’s money), buying the aircraft was “out of the question” according to SIA’s Managing Director Lim Chin Beng, but the carrier was said to be keen if an acceptable lease deal could be forged.

Here’s our look back at how the history of SIA’s Concorde operation unfolded. Scratch a little below the surface though, and the story of Concorde’s time with Singapore Airlines is a fascinating one, mired in politics of one sort or another from almost start to finish. (Photo: Steve Fitzgerald)Ĭatering mainly to time-pressed business travellers, celebrities and politicians, the service was short-lived as it suffered from waning demand and rising fuel costs, leading to heavy losses. British Airways Concorde G-BOAD wearing Singapore Airlines livery at London Heathrow Airport in July 1980. The service slashed flying times between Asia and Europe from around 18 hours on subsonic aircraft with multiple stops to under 10 hours, for those who could afford a ticket some 15% more expensive than a First Class fare. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Singapore Airlines operated the world’s most popular supersonic passenger airliner – Concorde – on flights between Singapore and London, as part of a joint venture with British Airways. 2021 Guide: Earn miles paying income tax with your credit card.