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British Airways resuming Concorde flights to New York

crew
BA Concorde crew members leave the aircraft after its flight from New York was canceled on Tuesday  

In this story:

'Exhaustive checks'

'Industry pulls together'



LONDON (CNN) -- British Airways has resumed all its Concorde services between London and New York, with the company saying it has "complete faith" in its fleet of supersonic jetliners.

But Air France said its own Concorde flights would remain suspended as the investigation continues into the cause of Tuesday's crash north of Paris.

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In a statement Wednesday, British Airways said it had decided to go ahead with its regularly scheduled 0930 GMT service -- Flight BA001 from London's Heathrow airport to New York -- after carrying out "extensive aircraft checks overnight".

The company said it had found no reason to believe the airplanes should remain grounded.

Passengers checking in for Concorde Flight BA001 Wednesday morning were philosophical about the journey ahead.

"Lightning doesn't strike twice," said Brian Pople, 60, an electrical contractor from Watford, England, who was traveling to the United States for a five-day vacation with wife Wendy.

"From what I can see on the news, it was probably something that happened on the ground," Pople said. "There's nothing wrong with the design. They've been using them long enough. It's only happened once in 30 years."

Pople said British Airways had offered him a refund but he had turned it down.

On Tuesday, British Airways canceled its two evening Concorde flights after Air France Flight 4590 plowed into a hotel outside Paris shortly after takeoff. The accident, which killed all 109 people on board and four on the ground, was the supersonic's first crash in 30 years.

"We have carried out extensive checks overnight and found no reason to believe the airplanes should remain grounded," said Mike Street, BA's director of customer services and operations.

'Exhaustive checks'

BA made its decision after conferring with aviation authorities in Britain and France, as well as engine and aircraft manufacturers in both countries.

"British Airways' first concern always is safety. All our aircraft are subject to exhaustive and continuing checks. We have compete confidence in our Concordes," Street said.

"Meantime, our thoughts and sympathies remain with our colleagues at Air France, and all those involved in this tragedy," Street said. "We have been in touch with Air France regularly since yesterday's tragedy and have offered any assistance we can provide."

British Airways had no immediate information about how many passengers are booked on its two scheduled flights out of London to New York on Wednesday. The Concorde has a seating capacity of 100.

Meanwhile, flags are flying at half-mast at the UK's Farnborough International Air Show as the Concorde crash cast a shadow over what is one of the world's biggest aviation events.

'Industry pulls together'

A minute's silence was held at the show organizers'official dinner Tuesday night, while a statement of condolence to relatives of the victims was to be made Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the event's organizers, the Society of British Aerospace Companies, said that otherwise the show would continue as planned Wednesday.

Boeing Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit, who runs the world's biggest aerospace enterprise, reflected on the disaster before the start of the company's daily press conference.

"This entire industry always pulls together. We care very deeply about what we do and we have nothing but sorrow for those who lost their lives and now the job is to find out exactly what happened and take advantage of that knowledge," he said.

Condit said the industry's prestige would survive the tragedy. "I think this industry has done more to foster safety than almost any other," he said.



RELATED STORIES:
'Black boxes' recovered at Concorde crash site
July 25, 2000
FAA investigating close call with 767 and Concorde at JFK
May 25, 1999
Supersonic Concorde wings its way to 30
March 2, 1999

RELATED SITES:
Bienvenue sur le site de ADP (Paris Airports website)
Page d'accueil Air France (in English)
British Airways
  •  Concorde
Air Transport Intelligence - Aerospace, Airlines, Airports and Aviation News and Information
EuropAmerica Cruises
  • Deutschland


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