LONDON, April 10: When Concorde flies off into the sunset for the last time in October, it will be the end of a glamorous era for the celebrity commuters who crowned it queen of the jet set 30 years ago. News that both British Airways and Air France are retiring the needle-nosed supersonic jet will sadden the stars who made its passenger list read like a Who’s Who of the rich and famous.

British singer Sir Cliff Richard was one of those who regularly travelled on Concorde.

“He never lost the thrill of it,” said his spokesman. “It certainly means something to him and he’ll miss it going, without a doubt.”

Any rocker, model or superstar worth their salt has travelled in Concorde’s plush, if small, cabin, guzzling champagne and lobster at more than the speed of sound.

Many of its most devoted regulars achieved fame about the same time it first took to the skies in 1969 — former Beatle Paul McCartney, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, actress Joan Collins, and singers Sir Elton John, and Phil Collins among them.

Although the bulk of Concorde’s daily business was made up of business travellers, travelling on the jet was part and parcel of the rock star life and a visible sign that they had truly “made it”.

“Concorde changed the way people travelled,” British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington told reporters. —Reuters