G-BOAB
G-BOAB is a preserved British-built Concorde Type 1 variant 102 formerly operated by British Airways. It is Concorde production number 208 and is recorded by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under manufacturer serial number 100-008. The aircraft first flew on 18 May 1976, was delivered to British Airways on 30 September 1976 and made its final flight from New York to London Heathrow on 15 August 2000. It remains at Heathrow, where it is visible near runway 27L but is not open to the public.[1][2][3]
Identity
G-BOAB is known as Alpha Bravo, using the phonetic alphabet for the last two letters of its registration. It was the third production Concorde delivered to British Airways and the third of the airline's seven aircraft in production-number order.[1][4]
The airframe has several identifiers which describe different records:
| Identifier | Value | Meaning |
| UK registration | G-BOAB | Principal civil registration |
| Concorde production number | 208 | Even-numbered sequence used for British-built production aircraft |
| CAA manufacturer serial number | 100-008 | Serial in the UK civil aircraft register |
The CAA describes the manufacturer as the British Aircraft Corporation and the aircraft as Concorde Type 1 Variant 102. Its register record gives ICAO 24-bit address 4004B6, four Rolls-Royce Olympus 593 Mk 610-14-28 engines and a maximum take-off weight of 185,070 kg.[5]
Construction and delivery
Airframe 208 was assembled at Filton and first flew from Filton to Fairford on 18 May 1976. The 3-hour 32-minute first flight reached Mach 2.05 at 63,500 ft and was followed by twelve further manufacturer test and development flights.[1]
British Airways took delivery on 30 September 1976. This date is later than both the aircraft's first flight and the airline's January 1976 introduction of Concorde passenger service. It should not be confused with the original registration allocation: G-BOAB had first been registered to the British Aircraft Corporation on 3 April 1974, more than two years before the completed aircraft flew.[6][1][2]
British Airways service
G-BOAB was based at Heathrow and used for scheduled supersonic passenger services and charters. British Airways' standard Concorde cabin had 100 seats, comprising 40 seats in the forward cabin and 60 aft. The CAA's historical record contains a regulatory maximum-passenger value of 144; that figure is not evidence of a 144-seat British Airways cabin.[2][5]
On 11 September 1984, the aircraft flew from Washington Dulles to Nice, a journey recorded in airframe histories as a 4,565-mile distance record for an airliner. On 16 November that year, it operated British Airways' inaugural Concorde charter to Seattle, routing through New York.[1]
The aircraft's service history includes the airline's scheduled London–New York operation. Its eventual final sector, BA002P from New York JFK to Heathrow, was a positioning flight rather than the fleet's final commercial Concorde service.[1][2]
Braniff interchange registrations
British Airways and Braniff International operated a Concorde interchange service through Washington Dulles in 1979–80. British Airways crews operated the international sector, while Braniff crews operated the subsonic domestic service to and from Dallas/Fort Worth.[7][8]
G-BOAB was re-registered G-N94AB on the British register and N94AB for the US domestic sector on 12 January 1979. The CAA's historical record identifies the register entry as N94AB with reference G-N94AB/R1. The airframe returned to G-BOAB on 17 September 1980.[5][1]
These were temporary registrations of production aircraft 208. They did not represent additional Concordes, and the aircraft retained British Airways colours during the interchange.[9]
1992 rudder separation
On 21 March 1992, G-BOAB was operating a scheduled Heathrow–New York flight over the North Atlantic at Mach 2 when the crew felt a brief vibration. More severe vibration developed during descent below Mach 1.4. The crew shut down the number 2 engine as a precaution and landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport without injury; inspection showed that a large part of the upper rudder was missing.[10]
The AAIB found that the upper rudder's bonded honeycomb structure had broken up following delamination. The investigation concluded that preparation material had probably entered the core during a major repair 254 flying hours earlier, weakening the skin-to-honeycomb bond. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service. The event is classified as an accident in the investigation record despite the absence of injuries and the successful landing.[10]
The report is significant beyond this airframe because it addressed inspection and repair practices for Concorde's bonded flight-control structures. It should not be confused with the separate 1989 upper-rudder failure involving G-BOAF.[10]
Grounding and final flight
Following the Air France Flight 4590 accident on 25 July 2000, the UK CAA suspended Concorde certificates of airworthiness. G-BOAB's last flight was BA002P from New York JFK to Heathrow on 15 August 2000, immediately before the UK fleet was grounded.[11][1]
Five British Airways aircraft subsequently received the fuel-tank protection, tyre and related modifications required for passenger service to resume in 2001. G-BOAB and G-BOAA were not returned to service. G-BOAB therefore did not participate in British Airways' 2003 farewell flights; the last scheduled Concorde service was operated by G-BOAG on 24 October 2003.[2][12]
The CAA record lists the aircraft's passenger certificate as expiring on 19 September 2001. That administrative field does not imply that G-BOAB flew after August 2000. Its recorded total was 22,297 hours at 31 December 2003; the airframe history gives the more precise operational total as 22,296 hours 55 minutes, with 7,810 landings and 6,688 supersonic flights.[5][1]
Preservation at Heathrow
The CAA de-registered G-BOAB on 4 May 2004 because it had been permanently withdrawn from use. British Airways' own Concorde history records that, while the other six fleet aircraft were distributed to preservation sites in the United Kingdom, Barbados and the United States, G-BOAB remained at Heathrow.[5][2]
The aircraft is stored outdoors beside the threshold area of runway 27L. It can be seen from parts of the airport perimeter and by passengers on the airfield, but it is not a public museum exhibit and cannot be boarded by visitors. Its presence at an operational airport does not make it airworthy or part of the current British Airways fleet.[3][5]
Current location and access are stated as at 29 August 2026. A freely licensed photograph made in September 2024 documents the aircraft in its Heathrow display position.[13]
Timeline
| Date | Event |
| 3 April 1974 | First registered as G-BOAB to the British Aircraft Corporation |
| 18 May 1976 | First flight from Filton to Fairford |
| 30 September 1976 | Delivered to British Airways |
| 12 January 1979 | Re-registered G-N94AB/N94AB for the Braniff interchange operation |
| 17 September 1980 | Re-registered G-BOAB after the interchange ended |
| 11 September 1984 | Flew the Washington–Nice distance-record sector |
| 16 November 1984 | Operated the inaugural British Airways Concorde charter to Seattle |
| 21 March 1992 | Lost a large section of upper rudder over the North Atlantic; landed safely at New York |
| 15 August 2000 | Final flight, New York JFK–Heathrow as BA002P |
| 2001 | Not selected for the British Airways return-to-service modification programme |
| 4 May 2004 | De-registered as permanently withdrawn from use |
Data-quality notes
Production number 208 and CAA serial number
100-008are distinct identifiers for one airframe.Original registration, first flight, delivery and entry into the operating fleet occurred on different dates.
G-N94ABandN94ABwere temporary interchange registrations, not additional aircraft.The CAA regulatory maximum of 144 passengers is not substituted for British Airways' 100-seat cabin.
The 15 August 2000 final flight preceded the fleet's 2001 return to service; G-BOAB never received the required modifications.
Stored, preserved and visible do not mean publicly accessible or airworthy.
Related pages
Sources
G-INFO aircraft register search — UK Civil Aviation Authority, record extract dated 28 August 2026
G-BOAB (208) — Heritage Concorde
Celebrating Concorde — British Airways
Concorde timeline: 1970s — ConcordeSST
AAIB Aircraft Accident Report 5/1993: G-BOAB — Air Accidents Investigation Branch
G-BOAB at Heathrow — Heritage Concorde
Image source and licence: G-BOAB at Heathrow in September 2024 — BWard 1997, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
