STV opted out from the network and broadcast Scotland Today when ITV 1were showing Des and Mel, and Grampian was on Coronation Street .STV wanted to get the take off live from Edinburgh at 2pm sadly she was late in taken off STV had to go sky high with Des and Mel instead
Concorde took off from Edinburgh at 2.20pm I and many others were on the perimeter of the runway at Edinburgh Airport to watch the historic take off. Two other jets (BA and British Midland) positioned themselves either side of the runway in tribute - a nice touch - and the crowd cheered as she took off. After heading towards the Forth Bridges she then turned back eastwards and gradually became a dot in the sky.
Getting out of the car park was a nightmare though - 1hr 20mins to get out of Ingliston Showground, just under a mile - but it was worth it. You just HAD to be there!
Exactly. From what I have heard ITV's made people laugh, full of jokes and witty humour. TV's not all about who relays the most up-to-date coverage. Hours and hours of the same newsreaders uttering the words 'en of an era' and repeating the same things doesn't appeal to anyone except news anoraks.
Another classic bit was when Felicity was asking onlookers what they thought and one said concorde was like 'something vibrating inside them'. Felicity said 'Good Grief' and moved on quickly!
Nick also said that the Concordes were running a bit late 'just like a railway timetable'. There were also lots of banter with Branson. 'Look there's one of your planes in the background there, we've set that shot up especially for you!'
Really it was like a rerun of the rememberable Golden Jubilee coverage on ITV with the same amount of banter although it was with Nick and John on that occasion.
Mary Nightingale was also live on the ITV News Channel via her mobile phone.
In my opinion entertaining presenters is much more significant that one extra camera angle here and there
I dont see what the big deal is...fancy jet yes, but any jet will do.
The end of an era for Great British engineering and elegance!
The end of an era for British Airways, they're no more a particular "special" airline.
The end of an age for supersonic travel, journeys to NY will now be nearly 3 times longer.
I dont see what the big deal is...fancy jet yes, but any jet will do.
I think Judy Finnigan shared a similar view to yourself. I'm not that particularly bothered, never having travelled on Concorde, but I think most of those who are, are like that because it's an end of a piece of aviation history - no other passenger aircraft can travel at supersonic speeds. I suppose it's sad to see that happen. But, it has been said that it's not economically viable anymore, and I have to agree after reading someone's comment on BBC News Online - on a flight from Miami to Washington, that person was the only passenger on the plane. Perhaps if the price had been lowered, then more people would have used it, but then the plane swallows fuel like there's no tomorrow, so that has to be paid for. I think I heard somewhere that it guzzles 25,000 litres of fuel per hour - the cost of fuel accounts for a third of a each ticket price.
Anyway, I'm digressing from the TV presentation! Sorry!
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The end of an age for supersonic travel, journeys to NY will now be nearly 3 times longer.
For who ? Concorde was for the elite. The rest of us will be plodding along on our chartered flights, as usual.
It was a dream, something to aspire to. "Before I die I want to fly on concorde", people proposing to partners just as it hits Mach2. Just because you don't use it, doesn't mean that it shouldn't exist.
Whenever I cross the channel I do so on a ferry, not by the tunnel. I don't think that the tunnel should be closed though.
Please, Jon Sopel is dire. He just stands there, has a very annoying manor and bores you to hell. Always forces me away from the BBC, Matthew Am<outhfullofwords> is much better.
I didn't see any of Sky's Coverage, but I can confidently say that ITV's coverage was far more entertaining, and although it didn't have a helicopter it was still better.
My god, what an idiotic hypocrit you are. How can you honestly say that ITV's coverage was better than Sky's when you admit you didn't watch one bit of Sky News.
Mind you, i'm not surprised, you are an ITV arse licker, I just have to look at the ITV News thread for an example of your seriously worrying fetish. Perhaps your opinion would be worth 1p if you had watched Sky News, but nope, your like the other ITV Idols on this forum.
My god, what an idiotic hypocrit you are. How can you honestly say that ITV's coverage was better than Sky's when you admit you didn't watch one bit of Sky News.
Mind you, i'm not surprised, you are an ITV arse licker, I just have to look at the ITV News thread for an example of your seriously worrying fetish. Perhaps your opinion would be worth 1p if you had watched Sky News, but nope, your like the other ITV Idols on this forum.
No more of a hypocrite than the people on this forum who make a generic statement such as "I don't watch ITV because it's crap". Each to their own, some people prefer ITV some prefer BBC or Sky. There is no right or wrong answer, even if somebody's opinion differs to your own. Not really worth getting your knickers in a twist, none of it really matters. That said, I wish I'd seen the ITVNC coverage this afternoon, sounds like a laugh.
I didnt fly on concorde, i cant really afford it. I have seen that it is the only major british export which is actually familiar to a worldwide audience. Concorde was an elite british institution, much like the 'british butler in tux' stereotype. We have just thrown away a superior plane to all others and doomed it to life in a museum being looked at by a bunch of historian who are laughing at our stupidity for decommisioning it today.
Despite what BA says, air travel has been put back many decades because of MONEY. While money is a concern why turn down the offer from Richard Branson. Ludicrous!
History will look back on the events of today with regret
As for the actual presentation, here are some of the best caps I could get of the coverage. I didnt have any from ITV News cos the signal too low to pick up on my box, plus I didnt see it. I think the BBC used widescreen the best to get that superior pic but sky also got a reasonable one if you ignore all the graphics etc The BBC one was full 16:9 (i think) so it couldnt have been pooled so the BBC got the best pics IMHO
All of this SO sucks - Concorde shouldn't be grounded at all!! they should have given the planes to Richard Branson
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Much as I'd love to see Concorde given a new lease of life with Virgin Airlines, the real issue is the fact that Airbus - who are the sole provider of all the spare parts, servicing and maintenance schedules that keep Concorde airworthy - have decided to cease supporting the plane permanently.
In other words, even if BA gave all its airworthy Concordes to Virgin for nothing, Virgin would be unable to service or repair them... and just like all old machines, Concorde needs more and more skilled and expensive technical support every year to keep it running properly.
Remember, the youngest Concorde in BA's fleet is 24 years old. It's expensive enough to keep a 5-year-old subsonic passenger jet fully serviced and airworthy, let alone a 24-year-old supersonic plane! I'm not even sure if there are any 24-year-old military supersonic planes that are still airworthy, and money's no object for the military.
I watched all three Concordes fly over London from my office window today - I could see them from their turn over Tower Bridge until about 30 seconds before touchdown - and I felt a real wrench... quite apart from the fact that I never got to travel on her, Concorde was one of the few really "Great" things left about Great Britain. Sure, it was an Anglo-French collaboration that made her possible, but the Air France Concordes never seemed to have the global profile of the BA planes, and as far as most of the world was concerned she was a uniquely British product.
As someone else here has already said, Concorde was something to aspire to. There isn't much that's British that it's possible to say that about!
And I remember seeing Lesley Judd arriving at Washington Dulles airport on the first transatlantic passenger-carrying Concorde flight live on Blue Peter in 1977...
I and many others were on the perimeter of the runway at Edinburgh Airport to watch the historic take off. Two other jets (BA and British Midland) positioned themselves either side of the runway in tribute - a nice touch - and the crowd cheered as she took off. After heading towards the Forth Bridges she then turned back eastwards and gradually became a dot in the sky.
