Summary

  • Singapore Airlines operated a Concorde jointly with British Airways, with both carriers sharing responsibility for operating the flights.
  • Concorde flew to Singapore with a stopover in Bahrain, reducing the journey time from London to Singapore to just nine hours.
  • The service was eventually suspended due to political conflicts and increasing costs, and the aircraft, G-BOAD, is now on display at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York.

Concorde is synonymous with British Airways and Air France, and there is no shortage of glamorous tales of transatlantic travel on the supersonic jet. But for a short while, Singapore Airlines used to operate Concorde too, or half of it at least. How did this come about, and where is the aircraft now?

A plane of two halves

Singapore Airlines operated its Concorde jointly with British Airways. The aircraft was registered as G-BOAD, with both carriers taking equal responsibility (and glory) for operating the flights. It was one of the earliest examples of a codeshare/alliance-type partnership in aviation.

Although the pilots were always from British Airways, the cabin crew alternated by segment between British Airways and Singapore Airlines employees. Even the aircraft itself was a plane of two halves - the left side was adorned with the Singapore Airlines livery, while the right side was in the British Airways Negus livery.

Why was Concorde flying to Singapore?

Back at the beginning of Concorde’s story, both Air France and British Airways were denied landing slots at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This meant that they needed to find other routes on which to deploy their new, headline-grabbing aircraft. For British Airways, a speedy Kangaroo Route had always been hugely attractive, so this is where they set their sights.

Unlike Qantas' upcoming Airbus A350-operated Project Sunrise flights, Concorde could not fly all the way to Sydney in one go, so British Airways needed to send the aircraft via Bahrain and Singapore. The London to Bahrain segment was originally launched in 1976, running three times a week using another Concorde aircraft, registered as G-BOAA.

Singapore banknote
Photo: Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab | Shutterstock

The next stage was to extend the service to Singapore, and having Singapore Airlines onboard with this would make everything a lot easier. Both carriers worked together to launch the service, which began in December 1977. Concorde's supersonic capabilities reduced the journey time from London to Singapore (including the stopover in Bahrain) to just nine hours. The service was such a source of pride that the aircraft found its way onto the nation's banknotes.

What went wrong?

G-BOAD had only made three flights from the UK to Singapore when the service had to be suspended. The Malaysian government had withdrawn permission for the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds over the Strait of Malacca, citing environmental concerns and issues with the supersonic boom. However, many believe that this move was more of a political swipe by a country trying to expand its reach to the UK - at the time, Malaysia Airlines had just been denied additional landing slots at London Heathrow, leading to tensions between the two countries.

Malaysia was not the only nation to put a spanner in the works of Concorde's operations. When the service first launched, India refused to allow the aircraft to fly at supersonic speed over its airspace, while the country was also angling for slots at the busy London airport. This added 200 miles to Concorde's flight path, lengthening the journey time by just 10 minutes, but increasing fuel consumption.

Determined to make the route a success, British Airways and Singapore Airlines resumed flights in January 1979, this time avoiding both Malaysian and Indian airspace. However, this added further complexity and cost to the route, which was to ultimately be its downfall. On November 1st, 1980, the service ended for good after just 20 months. Decreasing traffic was one of the reasons given for the cancelation, with the route estimated to be costing the carriers around £2.5 million per year.

Where is G-OABD now?

While G-BOAD may stand out in history for its unique half-and-half livery, it was also a record-breaking aircraft. With a total of 23,396 flying hours, it spent more time in the air than any other Concorde. It also made the fastest transatlantic crossing of any Concorde in 1996, traveling from New York JFK to London Heathrow in just 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

British Airways Concorde G-BOAD
Photo: NYC Russ | Shutterstock

The aircraft’s last flight was on November 10th, 2003, when it flew from London Heathrow to New York JFK. From there, it was transferred to the Intrepid Museum in New York. Although it was temporarily removed for maintenance and a paint job earlier this year, the Intrepid Museum remains G-BOAD's long-term home.

You might also like: Concorde Routes: Where Did The Supersonic Jet Fly?

Did you travel on Singapore Airlines' Concorde? What are your memories of the service? Let us know by commenting below.

  • Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-941 (2)
    Singapore Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    SQ/SIA
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Singapore Changi Airport
    Year Founded:
    1972
    Alliance:
    Star Alliance
    CEO:
    Goh Choon Phong
    Country:
    Singapore