6.2. Alden Supersonic BAC/Aérospatiale Concorde

The crises of the 70’s did not entirely kill the idea of supersonic flight. Though Alden had been forced to cancel its orders for SST’s in the early 70’s, the airline was still very much interested in the technology. So, in 1979, Alden signed an agreement with British Atlantic and Parinas to operate Concordes between select destinations in the U.S. Initially, aircraft would be flown on transatlantic flights from Europe to the U.S. before being turned over to American crews to be flown on Latin-American and subsonic domestic flights, then returned to European crews to be flown back across the Atlantic. This interchange agreement was expanded in 1980 - several Concordes from both BATL and Parinas were dry-leased year-round for Alden’s own transatlantic, Latin American, Hawaiian, and Asian flights. Two Concordes were painted in Alden’s livery and carried American registrations (N3459A, and N3625A, shown above). However, the airline did not see the success it had anticipated on these routes, and Alden's supersonic service was discontinued in 1982.

During its service with the airline, the Concorde was used in numerous commercials and advertisements, which helped to establish the airline as a household name and as a driver of luxury and innovation.