Lehpron From United States of America, joined Jul 2001, 7028 posts, RR: 22 Posted (8 years 2 months 3 weeks 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 3672 times:
According to http://www.concordesst.com/history/orders.html, under which carriers opted for orders/options, Iran Air was the last non-company flagship carrier to cancel their orders for two Concordes in October 1972.
Was this before or after OPEC oil embargo boycotted oil to the West?
If Iran was part of the coalition of countries that made up OPEC, could they have done something about it, was politics that much more important that having a non-american airliner?
I don't want this to turn into a non-aviation discussion, I just wondered if they could have kept their orders had they had resevations about the whatever made them have the oil embargo and stuff like that, etc.
You know what I'm asking?
Mods: if this thread ends up veering off onto "la la land" could ya move it into non-aviation? Thank you.
The meaning of life is curiosity; we were put on this planet to explore opportunities.
GDB From United Kingdom, joined May 2001, 12701 posts, RR: 80 Reply 2, posted (8 years 2 months 3 weeks 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 3399 times:
Like all the others, Iran merely had options, though the Shah was treated to a flight on the UK Prototype's world tour in 1972.
Even after the oil crisis, Iran was seen as a good prospect, as it was clearly a vanity buy for the Shah, 2 aircraft does not make up a daily Concorde service for very long, they in effect would have been very impressive biz jet.
Had the sale gone through, A/C 214 and 216 were to be allocated, these UK production aircraft were not part of the initial BA order of 204, 206, 208, 210 and 212.
But it was never going to happen after the Shah was deposed, so eventually 214/216 were placed with BA, initially to cover while the rest were rotated through Filton for modifications in 1979-81.
216, as G-BFKX later G-BOAF, was first to become a permanent member of the BA fleet, then 214 as G-BFKW, later G-BOAG, but in the downturn in the early 80's, 214 was stored, until a growth in Concorde profitability, full control by BA, increased services, led 214 to be restored in 1984-5 after three years as a spares source.
(A challenge as many parts had been removed without being recorded, some parts came from scrapped AF aircraft 211), once OAG was back in the pack (with the new Landor livery, new interior, the improved Marilake cabin displays), it became a full BA service aircraft, for the first time.
OAG always had some minor equipment differences, mostly in the flightdeck with the comms, as well as cabin lighting to name two, right up to the end.
OAF had these differences largely ironed out as it's service with BA was sooner and much less interrupted.
Both aircraft were about 1 tonne lighter than early production aircraft like 204/G-BOAC.
Never got to fly on 214, but I had three flights on 216, which was also the prototype tank mod aircraft;
BA188 IAD-LHR, November 1993.
BA9010C LHR-LHR, 11th Sept 2001.
BA002 JFK-LHR, 16 Sept 2002.
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