By Steve Sterner
Handling Company Manager
Washington Dulles
I almost had to refuse boarding to Stevie Wonder. And on another occasion, refuse three Lazard executives, top Concorde clients, who every week, left IAD on Wednesday and returned on Friday.
Stevie Wonder
Concorde punctuality was absolutely crucial and created a few “high-profile” moments. Lots of celebrities flying Concorde from Washington, IAD. I remember one occasion; Stevie Wonder was on our passenger list and he would arrive by private aircraft. Concorde departure was at 1315. Stevie Wonder’s plane lands at like 1300. We gave the tower special permission to let his plane taxi to the Concorde gate. He was traveling with two “handlers”. His plane arrives – we grab his bags – open them and inspect for security, and load them. The engines are starting. We are down to the wire. The Wonder party is wanded for security and cleared. We have put the stair truck on the galley door for their boarding. They board. The ramp noise is incredible during the startup. Stevie Wonder is a very tall man and the galley door is small. Fortunately, one of his handlers notices and pushes his head down just before he would have whacked it on the fuselage. Galley door closed. Small plane has taxied away. All engines running. Departure 1315.
Thank God, I didn’t want to have to refuse boarding to Stevie Wonder
Three Lazard Executives
Every week we had a team of three Lazard executives who would fly out on Wednesday and return on Friday, like clockwork. They came down from La Guardia (LGA) on the Colgan shuttle, which was a connecting charter operation created in order to give the NYC market same day access to Concorde. It was a special “meet’n greet” operation for the passenger service.
One day, the weather was lousy in IAD. The visibility and ceiling were below the minimums for the Colgan aircraft. We went back and forth with our AF colleagues at LGA and with the Weather Bureau. Finally, decision time. I had to inform the Lazard team that we could not wait and that the weather forecast was not expected to improve. They were disappointed but reasonable.
It’s not easy to refuse your most frequent Concorde passengers… but Concorde waits for no man, woman or superstar …..
SS