British Airways once took four Concordes off-duty just to treat staff to a champagne formation flight

British Airways once took four Concordes off-duty on Christmas Eve to treat its staff to an hour of champagne in the skies.

This all happened back in 1985 when the company decided to splurge on a festive treat for its hard-working employees.

Across each jet, 65 BA flight deck crew got to live in luxury as passengers for the day.

This takes employee perks to a sky-high level.

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British Airways used four Concordes to treat its staff

It can’t be overstated what a commercial sacrifice this was for the company.

Concorde was an expensive and strictly scheduled commodity for British Airways, as the planes spent their lives flying across the Atlantic.

For four of them to be taken out of the schedule for a one-hour morale booster was a big deal.

In order to make it work, a day was found when at least three Concordes would be available.

A fourth would be roped in via fleet rotations.

Christmas Eve was pinpointed as an opportune date, and engineers got to work ensuring that no technical issues would ground the day.

When it came to choosing who got to fly on board, this task fell to department heads.

It became something of a lottery to secure a ticket.

Pulling off the ultimate festive treat

In practical terms, this was no small feat either.

Air traffic control was tasked with carving out some protected corridors above southern England to ensure that planes heading to Heathrow or Gatwick wouldn’t overlap.

Each plane would depart from Heathrow at fifteen-second intervals, which is about as noisy as you’d imagine.

Anyone who’s heard the sonic boom of a Concorde will testify to that.

And nobody knows that better than the people living near Heathrow.

This Christmas Eve stunt was just one of the most memorable moments we got from the supersonic jet during its all-too-short lifetime.

There was the time that Jeremy Clarkson poured water on Piers Morgan’s lap on the last flight.

And of course, there was the infamous Pepsi plane, which cost $1 million.

Not quite as heartwarming as the Christmas Eve treat of 1985, but memorable nonetheless.

Key milestones in Concorde’s supersonic story

1956: UK and France begin discussions for a supersonic passenger aircraft
1962: Official Anglo-French treaty signed to develop Concorde
1969: First Concorde prototype takes flight in Toulouse
1973: Concorde hits Mach 2 for the first time during testing
1976: First commercial flights launch with British Airways and Air France
1985: Concorde used for transatlantic VIP trips and iconic charters
1996: Fastest transatlantic crossing set—New York to London in 2h 52m
2003: Final commercial Concorde flight marks the end of supersonic travel

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