Couple honoured to restore royal Concorde seats

A family firm tasked with restoring the seats of the Concorde used by the Royal Family said it was an honour to play a part in preserving history.

The Leather Repair Company, based in Hull, has started work on restoring the seats on Concorde G-BOAC, which attracts thousands of visitors every year to the Runway Visitor Park (RVP) at Manchester Airport.

Carolynne and Richard Hutchins said they offered to restore the seats free of charge after seeing they were in need of some TLC during a visit.

G-BOAC, known as Alpha Charlie, was the second Concorde to be delivered to British Airways in 1976 and was used by many celebrities and royals including Princess Diana and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The couple said they were using a special mix to restore the leather seats - one they had developed just for Concorde.

Mrs Hutchins said: "We are really lucky to do what we do and work on some amazing items.

"We've had lots of things in from all over the world, but to work on something that has travelled all over the world is just really humbling."

She added the first exciting moment came when they were removing the seats and found items people had lost down the side, including chocolate from New York.

Mr Hutchins added it felt "so special".

"This particular Concorde was used by the late Queen and the royal family. It's the only one they ever did use," he said.

"For us, we are preserving history and the heritage for the country."

The jet, which could fly at twice the speed of sound, made its final commercial flight from Manchester on 22 October 2003.

A week later, the flagship aircraft in British Airways' Concorde fleet touched down at Manchester one last time to go on display at RVP.

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