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Which celebrities flew on Concorde?

Concorde was also popular with the Queen and celebrities. Joan Collins travelled with the aircraft so frequently that she became something of an ambassador for the service. Other notable passengers included Elton John, Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and Sean Connery.



The Concorde was the ultimate "celebrity shuttle" between 1976 and 2003, hosting a "who's who" of the 20th century. Frequent flyers included Sir Paul McCartney, who famously chartered the jet for tours and even gave impromptu performances at 60,000 feet. Phil Collins used the Concorde's speed to perform at both the London and Philadelphia Live Aid concerts on the same day in 1985. Other regulars included Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elton John, who valued the three-and-a-half-hour crossing between London and New York. Fashion icons like Joan Collins and Calvin Klein were often spotted in the small, exclusive cabin, as were world leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. Pop culture legends like Mick Jagger and The Beatles (specifically John Lennon and Paul McCartney) were also known to prefer the supersonic jet to avoid the grueling long-haul flights. Even "The Queen Mother" celebrated her 85th birthday with a flight on the Concorde. Because the cabin only held 100 passengers and tickets cost upwards of $10,000, it remained the most concentrated "VIP lounge" in the sky for nearly three decades.

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Fred Finn, is the worlds most-travelled man, and with a world record that no one can ever beat – the world's most-travelled Concorde passenger! Fred Finn was on the first and last Concorde flights and holds the Guinness World Record for the most Concorde flights as a passenger!

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In real life, Diana took several trips aboard the Concorde, both with Prince Charles and solo.

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Air France and British Airways were the only airlines to purchase and fly the Concorde. The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for the aircraft's speed and luxury service.

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BA never suffered a serious accident with its seven strong fleet. Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day.

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The challenges of manufacturing and certifying new parts, maintaining a licensed flight crew capable of flying it, and ongoing maintenance and preservation mean we are no closer to seeing Concorde flying again since its last flight in 2003.

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So, to answer the question, yes, some fighter jets are faster than the Concorde. However, it is important to note that the Concorde was primarily designed for passenger travel, not for combat or aerial maneuvers.

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But when Concordes were in action, they would often break the sound barrier. Concorde's window-rattling sonic booms produced enormous sound energy, about 110 decibels, similar to the sound of explosions or thunder. The aircraft is dubbed the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST).

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Boom Supersonic, the US plane manufacturer, plans to have the answer with its new Overture jet, which is set to transport customers at twice the speed of today's fastest commercial aircraft, and is regarded as the new Concorde.

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Despite the crew being trained and certified, no plan existed for the simultaneous failure of two engines on the runway, as it was considered highly unlikely. Aborting the takeoff would have led to a high-speed runway excursion and collapse of the landing gear, which also would have caused the aircraft to crash.

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The Concorde soared so high that you could see the Earth's curve. A ticket from London to New York on a flight operated by British Airways cost a whopping $7,574 (Rs5,50,000), which is equivalent to $12,460 (Rs9 lakh) today. But for the price, the Concorde experience wasn't exactly comfortable or luxurious.

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The world-famous Concorde was developed in the 70s as a very high-speed passenger plane to do just this, able to fly from London to New York, faster than the speed of sound, in just under 4 hours! It's one of those moments in the history of physics that stands out!

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