Concorde, Part 1. The treaty made the plane.
Britain repeatedly wanted to cancel Concorde. The agreement with France made walking away costly. Huw asks whether the achievement would ever have existed if stopping had been easy.
THE GIST ON CONCORDE, PART 1
Why was Concorde so difficult to cancel?
The 1962 agreement committed Britain and France to developing a supersonic airliner together. Rising costs did not provide a simple way out. Britain's attempts to reconsider the project ran into the obligations it had already accepted.
How did an expensive commitment become a national achievement?
The project survived years in which its costs and the country's other problems made it an obvious target. Huw's distinction is between what an undertaking looks like while it is being built and what people value after it exists.
What happened when the state handed it over?
In 1979, the government handed the aircraft to British Airways while retaining a share of possible profits. The next part of the story asks how an operation expected to lose money became profitable, after somebody finally asked what a seat was worth.
Does this change how you see concorde, part 1?
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Quick answers
Why was Concorde so difficult to cancel?
The 1962 agreement committed Britain and France to developing a supersonic airliner together. Rising costs did not provide a simple way out. Britain's attempts to reconsider the project ran into the obligations it had already accepted.
How did an expensive commitment become a national achievement?
The project survived years in which its costs and the country's other problems made it an obvious target. Huw's distinction is between what an undertaking looks like while it is being built and what people value after it exists.
See you on the next one.
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