Concorde row 12
 

Thanks to all the fodorites who responded to my Concorde question last week. I have deceide to go on the Concorde. I am booked in row 12. I have seen two seating plans for the Concorde - one has row 1 to 10 in the first cabin and row 11 to 26 in the second cabin; the other has row 1 to 12 in the first cabin and row 14 to 26 in the second cabin. In both cases there is no row 13. I am confused, which cabin is my seat in? Is one of these seating plans old? NB - I have looked at the seating plans for Ba's Concorde only, I have not seen Air France's seating plan. Please help. Thank you.

PS I phoned BA and they do not seem to know anything about it.

The Concorde only seats 100 passengers - 4 to a row, pairs of passengers on either side of the aisle. Being that the plane has 26 rows, but does not mention row 13, means that there is not a row 13 due to superstition, but only 25 rows. Mathematically, 25 x 4 = 100, 26 x 4 = 104 - 4 (row 13) = 100 passengers.

The Concordes were built in different years, thus the change in size of cabins, so unless you can get the specific plane number (practically impossible because of equipment maintenance), you most likely won't be able to determine which cabin until check in.

In Concorde "tradition", the first 10 rows (40 seats) are considered Concorde First Class..After Row 10 is the lavatories/closet storage areas.The wing begins on row 11.That makes the rear 60 passengers "steerage"...too funny.....

Hughes, have you been drinking??

Dear retired, I'm so glad you decided to do it. Wish I could............

Wow, I posted a comment earlier referring to BA's not knowing and saying it was typical of them. That post has been removed? Are we not allowed to say anything negative about airlines now??

Never mind. I didn't realize that retiredinflorida posted this twice and now there are two threads going with the same title and question.

Patrick - sorry I confused you, I did read your comment about BA.

The only reason why I posted this question is bacause I've heard that the Concorde is very noisy, especailly at the back. (I'm not sure if this applies to the last few rows or the entire second cabin). Also, I would like to know if the wing will obstruct the view.

Thanks for the feedback. I will make a report when I return.

If your seat is over the wing, I think its almost certain to obstruct your view.

The Concorde flies 11 miles above the earth. At that altitude, there is very little to see other than the sky and the clouds.

I didn't think the Concorde was flying anymore. Atleast that is what this months edition of Conde Nast Traveler said.

leslie - You stated that: "The Concorde flies 11 miles above the earth. At that altitude, there is very little to see other than the sky and the clouds"....

I wish you were right, but alas, that's an incorrect analysis of the situation. Concorde's swept wing is an obstruction to the view for seats that are too far back in the cabin.

The view to which I refer is that of the "curvature" of the Earth. Many people have reported that this view is better in the front of the cabin than toward the middle or the rear.

Best wishes, Dave

" I didn't think the Concorde was flying anymore. Atleast that is what this months edition of Conde Nast Traveler said."

That is partly correct - Air France retired their Concordes on May 31st (they have all already been ferried to their final resting places, i.e. museums), whereas British Airways will operate theirs till October 24th.

Tipically, row 11 will be the bulkhead row of the rear cabin (these are among the best seats along with the elusive row 1, as you get bigger tables and, if you're interested, you've got the LCD displays with the speed and altitude right in front of you). Doris Day was seated there on my flight so perhaps the rear cabin isn't that bad after all ;)

As far as the view from the windows goes, it doesn't make a big difference even if you're seated in row 26 - because of the wing's delta shape, the wingspan is so small that you see very little of it even in the back rows. I was seated in 21D and couldn't see half of the wing, and had an excellent view of the curvature of the Earth (which can be discerned even better if you look across several windows rather than one). It almost feels like a spaceship, you only see the dark dark blue sky, the horizon and that small white wing...

Concorde is very noisy inside, a bit less up front but still nowhere near quiet :) Be prepared for a LOT of noise upon landing, the thrust reversers are incredibly loud, it truly is unlike any other airplane.

Federico :)

I hate to be the one to crush illusions, and I'll admit I'm not an expert. But friends who flew several times on the Concorde said then when they commented on that dramatic view of the curve of the earth, the attendent informed them it is actually a result of the curve in the windows, but is a common misconception.

Yes, Patrick, I am crushed :(
Ah well, as some eagerly rush to remind us, we won't be flying on a Concorde anyway, so we can all dream about how fun it would have been, seeing the Curvature of the Earth (which I will keep believing ) :)

Someone needs to tell Ba's marketing department if what Patrick says is true:

"Cocooned in the deep indigo blue of the stratosphere, it is possible to see the curvature of the earth from your window." Celebrating Concorde link from BA.

I remain a believer :)

PCHsmiles - as others have says Row 12 does exist and is the 2nd row in the rear cabin. Also if you want to post your email address I will hapilly scan and forward my Concorde boarding pass as proof that Fodorites have travelled on the great plane.

Mine was probably not a typical experience, but when we flew Concorde a few years ago to Barbados, it was quite empty. We had 8 seats for 4 of us, so no problem with space! And the steward was so kind to cut my youngest child's meat into bite-size portions too; the children were very impressed with this. Can't remember seeing the curvature of the earth; not much to see at all really. Oh, and the Concorde lounge at Heathrow was pretty good too.