§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
At 1981 prices what was the total operating deficit of the Concorde services run by British Airways in 1980, what additional costs would have been payable in 1980 by British Airways if they were required to meet a reasonable proportion of the interest payable on the total of £1,126 million development costs of Concorde, and what was the total number of staff in British Airways (in terms of full-time jobs per year) employed in 1980 on Concorde services, including maintenance and other services.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Trefgarne)The total 733WA operating deficit of British Airways' Concorde services in the financial year 1980–81 was £2.047 million. Because of the small size of Concorde's production run, it is not possible to make a meaningful estimate of what would be a reasonable proportion of Concorde's development costs for British Airways to bear. British Airways estimate that roughly 1,200 staff (in terms of full-time job equivalents) were employed during the year on Concorde, although the figure was subject to some fluctuation.