Schwyharts Get Concorde Seats

Bill and Carolyn Schwyhart, the well-known Rogers developer and his wife, were supposed to win the charity auction for the last seats on the invitation-only, final charter flight of the Concorde on Oct. 22.r

Instead, they were among the last 100 or so passengers to get seats the same day on the last commercial flight by one of the handful of supersonic jets operated by British Airways. Air France previously grounded its Concorde fleet after the last flight on May 31.r

The Schwyharts flew from New York’s JFK Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport.r

Schwyhart said he was the top-bidder for the final seats on the charter trip that went for $60,300 on eBay, the online auction site.r

“We were in the running for those, and we did have the high bid, but there was a communication glitch at the last second and we didn’t get our bid in,” Schwyhart said. “It was going to be a surprise for my wife.”r

British Airways called to apologize. With two hours notice, Schwyhart was told by his travel agent, Sahara Hoskins at Design Travel in Rogers, that two seats had become available. Design Travel said a one-way trip on the Concorde could normally cost at least $6,500 per passenger. The Schwyharts caught the last flight from XNA to reach New York’s Laguardia Airport at 11 p.m. They caught the Concorde at 9 a.m. the next day.r

Schwyhart said he was surprised by the “red carpet” treatment British Airways gave him and his wife once it found out about the error that caused their eBay bid for a Concorde charter flight to be three seconds late. The Schwyharts were moved to the first row, given a commemorative bottle of champagne and a private tour. r

Schwyhart, who is a principal investor in Pinnacle Air Group in Springdale along with J.B. Hunt, Collins Haynes and Tim Graham, said the thrust of the Learjets his group owns is more powerful at take-off than that of the Concorde. But, breaking the speed of sound at 57,500 feet was something altogether different.r