Trapped in a Loveless Marriage: The Anglo–French Concorde Crisis of 1974

Abstract

This study examines the involvement of Britain, France, the United States and, to a lesser extent, the EEC in shaping air travel in the late 20th century; it also examines how their actions impacted the worldwide political, economic, and technological landscape over the long term, while focusing particularly on the British perspective. In the two decades following WWII, supersonic transport (SST) was emerging and promised to revolutionize air travel. Britain and France joined forces in a 1962 treaty and embarked upon development of the SST-based Concorde with the goal of taking the lead in international air travel and restoring Europe to its former glory. However, the reins of power changed hands in Britain in 1974—from the Conservative to the Labor party—and the new government had little enthusiasm for the Concorde project, given its huge cost overruns and technical problems, and diffi culties in obtaining from the United States favorable landing rights. France, however, did not waver from its dream and was still pushing to continue with the project as originally agreed upon. Like the European monarchs of the past, Britain and France found themselves trapped in a "loveless marriage of convenience, " as set down in the 1962 treaty.