Concorde Mk2

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

I doubt this thing will ever get built, too complicated for one thing, lots of dead weight with retractable engines etc. If it does ever fly it won't be in my lifetime i'm thinking!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11782446/Concorde-Mark-2-Airbus-files-plans-for-new-supersonic-jet.html

[Captain Coffee 2,030]

20 Uber rich passengers...pfffft.

An airline could probably save money and hassle by purchasing Civilized military jets and flying one passenger at a time at ridiculous cost per ticket, the Ubers can afford whatever they need to charge to show a profit.

[allardjd 1,853]

Concorde couldn't make money over most of its life without government subsidies.  What makes anyone think this thing can?  The way to make money as an airline is not fewer pax and higher speeds, it's more pax and lower fuel costs. 

 

Let's say, conservatively, they would need the same revenue as a Concorde flight generated to make money.  (In reality, it will probably take several times that much, at least).  In round numbers lets use 100 Concorde pax X $5,000 per ticket or $500,000 gross revenue per trip.  

 

Now, to generate that much revenue from twenty pax, a ticket on this one would have to cost ~ $25,000.  Can you find twenty people willing to pay that for a one hour ride from London to New York?  Sure you can, for a while, but it's got to be sustainable and the thrill seekers will soon peter out.  Also, people in that much of a hurry don't want to stand around waiting for a once-per-day flight, they'll want one on THEIR schedule.

 

I'm pretty sure I've vastly under-estimated how much revenue they'd need to rake in to make a reasonable profit.  Concorde couldn't run on that revenue without outside help.  I imagine acquisition, maintenance and operational costs would be a pretty tall dollar for a bird like that, likely much more than Concorde.

 

The Resident Skeptic

 

John

 

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

I knew i'd seen the design before, Faireys GOR.339 was a contender in the TSR2 contest,

http://www.xplanes3d.com/Projects/GOR339/art/GOR339_scene_3.jpg

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Bristols Type 204 was of a similar configuration.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2902/14028666477_1865ccedfc_b.jpg

[Christopher Low 63]

What annoyed me most about this announcement was news channels broadcasting it as "Concorde Comeback?" Talk about misleading