Claude MONPOINT has left us.
There is some news that we do not like to transmit and in particular this one.
Claude MONPOINT left at the end of January in complete discretion.
Concorde's first Chief Flight Attendant passed away on January 31 at the age of 93, after a life dedicated to aviation and in particular to Concorde.
Here he is on board the SA during one of his first flights preparing for the rest of the trip.
Photo collection AAMD (DR)
Two articles talking about Claude MONPOINT.
The first by his friends at APCOS on their site:
And the second his own presentation in the Mach 2 magazine:
Here we can only talk about our brief meeting with Mr. MONPOINT.
Of course we have often heard about him but we only really got to know him during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the SA at the Delta Museum.
To produce our book “The Life of the SA” before this event we requested authorization from APCOS to reproduce part of their publication cited above, and beforehand we contacted Mr. MONPOINT to invite him to our celebration , and to ask him what part of his article we could publish…
His reaction was immediate: “I accept with great pleasure your invitation… but I do not want you to publish my text in part…”
Of course the message was heard and the entire text is now in our book.
Here is a small mosaic of images from our first meeting to introduce you to the man who organized all the SA flights and whom he came to see again on this occasion.
What can I say about this day; elegance, benevolence, kindness, tenderness and friendship.
A presentation of his career on board the SA was greatly appreciated and all questions received a clear and documented answer; those who attended his conference on board the SA came back delighted.
A kind, charming and mischievous man.
The day flew by at supersonic speed...
Subsequently we remained in telephone contact very regularly and of course our new invitation at the end of September 2023 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first WASHINGTON/ORLY crossing.
His response was immediate:
“I can’t miss this event; I will do everything possible to come”
And now here is our second meeting with Claude.
When he arrived at Montparnasse station his first question was:
“Will I still have the pleasure like last time of dining with your charming wife in this great Indian restaurant?”
The evening was wonderful, we will keep Mifa and I forever in our memory.
At one point he took us aside and asked us to call him “Claude” like all his friends, which we took to be a huge mark of friendship.
The next morning he arrived dressed to the nines.
Also at ease with our Mayor, our deputy, friend Julian and Miss Jeunesse Aquitaine.
But what could Nicole MENEVEUX and Claude talk about in front of Concorde???
During the day our friends from DiViPassion took advantage of the few moments of tranquillity to interview our guests and in particular Claude who participated in this first transatlantic flight aboard the SA between Washington and Orly on September 26, 1973.
You can watch this report using one of the two links below:
As he explained in all his conferences, the SA was his favourite plane for which he invested his all and subsequently all Concorde passengers without knowing it were able to benefit from his know-how and his organization which began on our plane 50 years earlier.
A day that went by way too quickly...
Claude will forever keep his place in the SA and in our memories.
Marie France « Mifa » and Alexandre
Sur le site de Philippe BORENTIN vous pouvez retrouver tous les vols effectués par Claude.
On Philippe BORENTIN's website you can find all the flights carried out by Claude.
Here we have selected the 50 flights carried out on the SA.
F - WTSA | 74 | 18/09/1973 | Paris Orly | Las Palmas | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 75 | 18/09/1973 | Las Palmas | Caracas | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 76 | 20/09/1973 | Caracas | Dallas | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 77 | 21/09/1973 | Dallas | Dallas | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 78 | 21/09/1973 | Dallas | Dallas | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 79 | 22/09/1973 | Dallas | Dallas | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 80 | 23/09/1973 | Dallas | Washington | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 81 | 26/09/1973 | Washington | Paris Orly | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 108 | 07/02/1974 | Toulouse | Keflavik | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 109 | 07/02/1974 | Keflavik | Fairbanks | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 110 | 13/02/1974 | Fairbanks | Fairbanks | Test |
F - WTSA | 111 | 13/02/1974 | Fairbanks | Fairbanks | Test |
F - WTSA | 112 | 15/02/1974 | Fairbanks | Anchorage | Test |
F - WTSA | 113 | 15/02/1974 | Anchorage | Fairbanks | Test |
F - WTSA | 114 | 15/02/1974 | Anchorage | Anchorage | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 115 | 19/02/1974 | Fairbanks | Keflavik | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 116 | 19/02/1974 | Keflavik | Toulouse | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 118 | 25/03/1974 | Toulouse | Bordeaux | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 119 | 25/03/1974 | Bordeaux | Marseille | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 120 | 25/03/1974 | Marseille | Toulouse | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 138 | 27/05/1974 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Dakar | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 139 | 27/05/1974 | Dakar | Rio de Janeiro Galéo | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 140 | 28/05/1974 | Rio de Janeiro Galéo | Dakar | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 141 | 28/05/1974 | Dakar | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 146 | 31/05/1974 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Dakar | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 147 | 31/05/1974 | Dakar | Rio de Janeiro Galéo | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 148 | 01/06/1974 | Rio de Janeiro Galéo | Dakar | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 149 | 01/06/1974 | Dakar | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Endurance |
F - WTSA | 161 | 13/06/1974 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Boston | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 162 | 14/06/1974 | Boston | Miami | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 163 | 14/06/1974 | Miami | Boston | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 164 | 17/06/1974 | Boston | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 165 | 17/06/1974 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Boston | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 166 | 18/06/1974 | Boston | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 176 | 29/06/1974 | Toulouse | Istres | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 177 | 29/06/1974 | Istres | Téhéran | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 188 | 19/10/1974 | Toulouse | London Heathrow | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 189 | 20/10/1974 | London Heathrow | Gander | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 190 | 20/10/1974 | Gander | Mexico | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 191 | 21/10/1974 | Mexico | San Francisco | Test |
F - WTSA | 192 | 23/10/1974 | San Francisco | Anchorage | Test |
F - WTSA | 193 | 23/10/1974 | Anchorage | Los Angeles | Test |
F - WTSA | 194 | 25/10/1974 | Los Angeles | Acapulco | Test |
F - WTSA | 195 | 25/10/1974 | Acapulco | Lima | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 196 | 26/10/1974 | Lima | Bogota | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 197 | 26/10/1974 | Bogota | Lima | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 198 | 28/10/1974 | Lima | Caracas | Convoyage |
F - WTSA | 199 | 28/10/1974 | Caracas | Las Palmas | Demonstration |
F - WTSA | 200 | 28/10/1974 | Las Palmas | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Ferry |
F - WTSA | 297 | 06/10/1975 | Montréal Mirabel | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Endurance |
