The Emirati airline has shocked the world completely – in an effort to regain its positions as the world’s best airline, Emirates has decided to go all in.
Today, on April 1, 2019, Emirates announced that they would be re-launching the famous supersonic jet, the Concorde into service in 2022, just three years from now.
In order to prepare for the re-introduction of the supersonic jet, Emirates is determined to hire and train new pilots, flight attendants and engineers to maintain the Concorde.
Long Road Ahead
However, the road to fly the Concorde is not an easy one. It is an ambitious plan to re-launch the jet in just three years, but the airline definitely has resources to do so.
Firstly, there are a lot of lawmakers to convince otherwise. One of the reasons why Concorde departed the fleets of Air France and British Airways is that international laws are limiting its routes.
As we discussed in the blog post about the fact that supersonic aircraft are not coming back, sonic booms are a huge problem. The sonic booms can potentially break windows and because of their intolerable sound, they might also damage ears.
But Emirates has indicated that they are discussing with lawmakers of the European Union and the United States to overturn the “supersonic-overland-flight” ban. Even though the United States’ government is waiting for NASA’s research about sonic booms results, which are due to come out in 2025, the Dubai-based airline is asking to reconsider to overturn the ban earlier.
Secondly, they need to get back their newest fleet additions to an airworthy condition. With the guidance of Airbus engineers who worked on Concorde, Emirates plans to test their first Concorde in 2021. However, restoring them will cost a lot of money. Various aviation experts predict that it will cost between $15 and $20 million to make a single Concorde fly again. Yet knowing this, Emirates are prepared to invest the required funds.
But the airline has set its first steps on the road ahead. It already purchased 4 examples.
Concordes on very specific routes
Emirates have purchased 2 former Air France Concorde’s, registered as F-WTSB and F-BVFB. They will be the first 2 to be transported to Dubai, as engineers will work on the Concorde day and night to restore them to an airworthy condition.
Eventually, Emirates will also bring the 2 former British Airways Concorde’s, bearing the letters G-BOAB and G-BOAC to Dubai. They will arrive in Dubai in the first few months of 2020.
Nevertheless, even when the whole world is very excited, Emirates are keeping a level head. They plan to fly the Concorde on only 4 routes so that they can operate the supersonic jets at a profit.
Emirates announced the 4 routes to be:
EK001 Dubai International Airport – London Heathrow;
EK002 London Heathrow – Dubai International Airport.
EK003 Dubai International Airport – John F. Kennedy International Airport;
EK004 John F. Kennedy International Airport – Dubai International Airport.
EK005 Dubai International Airport – Singapore Changi Airport;
EK006 Singapore Changi Airport – Dubai International Airport.
EK007 Dubai International Airport – Delhi International Airport;
EK008 Delhi International Airport – Dubai International Airport.
People who travel often between these cities will have a chance to step onboard the restored Concorde in 2022, with the inaugural flight to be between Dubai and London. Emirates is yet to announce the specific date, but they will notify passengers as soon as they will be able to.
And we are just as excited as everyone is! To see one of the most influential aircraft in the history of aviation again in the sky makes us giggle with joy. In addition, there might be a small chance of us stepping inside a Concorde, which is even more exciting!
2022 cannot come any sooner!
This is just an April Fools’ joke, please do not take any information written in this article seriously. With the aviation industry so caught up in serious news and announcements, sometimes it’s a good idea to lighten up sometimes and not to think about things too seriously.