Little did many know that Aerospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation actually offered the Concorde to Philippine Airlines in the 1970s. However, that’s not only it. During the demonstration flight, it was a Filipino PAL pilot who flew the Concorde from Paris to Manila! This was no less than Capt. Jose “Pepot” Gonzales, a former Philippine Air Force pilot and later on a PAL pilot for 26 years. Pepot Gonzales eventually became the very first Asian and the only Filipino to fly the historic Concorde at supersonic speed!
When Aerospatiale and BAC offered the supersonic Concordes to PAL
In 1971, Aerospatiale and British Aircraft Company offered the supersonic jet to no less than Philippine Airlines! Unconfirmed reports also said that PAL had planned of purchasing 4 units of the Concorde until the oil crisis struck in 1973.
Then Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos revived the idea of purchasing the Concorde after PAL was taken back into government control. BAC wanted a sale of two units, but Marcos wanted landing rights in London Heathrow International Airport. The deal was abandoned in the face of the British refusal in giving landing rights, so instead, Marcos made massive orders of Boeing aircraft which included 747s.
Learning from the Concorde lessons, the British eventually agreed to give PAL its landing rights after some prodding from France after the Airbus A300 was being offered to the airline. The producers of the Concorde which was Aerospatiale – BAC later became part of a consortium of European aircraft manufacturers which formed Airbus.
Philippine Airlines operated 14 Airbus A300B4, Airbus’s very first commercial aircraft.
Capt. Joe “Pepot” Gonzales
Capt. Pepot Gonzales, an aviation cadet of the Philippine Air Force Flying School Class of 1951A, was more than just a pilot. He was one of the pioneers and the father of the Philippine Air Force’s legendary Blue Diamonds Aerobatic team in 1959. He later on retired from military service to become a commercial airline pilot for Philippine Airlines from 1960 to 1986.
However in 1976, Capt. Pepot Gonzales, who was still a PAL pilot that time, made history. He took on a special role to fly the Aerospatiale – BAC Concorde from Paris to Manila, on a demonstration flight and static display in Manila. This was the time that the Concorde was going on a world tour and was being offered to Asian carriers. Pepot Gonzales then became the very first Asian and the only Filipino pilot to be at the control of a Concorde!
After working for PAL in 1986, Capt. Pepot moved to Singapore Airlines where he served as Boeing 747 captain until 1991. He retired from flying after. This legendary pilot accumulated a total of 23,634 flying hours from the time he began flying until retirement.
Really proud to know that a PAL pilot flew the Concorde from Paris to Manila.
Attribution: Francis Karem Elazegui Neri and Ian Gonzales
