Air France Auctions off the Concorde

Air France auctions off the Concorde for charity on November 15th, 2003. Proceeds will be donated to various children's charities. The auction will be conducted in Paris by Christie's, perhaps the most prestigious auction house in the world. Want your own piece of aviation history? Just want more details? Then here are some of the facts:

The Auction

• Being held at Christie's, 9 Avenue Matignon, Paris, France.
• Saturday, November 15, 2003 at 3p.m. local time.
• All auction lots are being sold with no reserve (no minimum price that must be bid in order for the item to be sold).

Viewing dates prior to the auction

• November 10,12,14 from 10a.m. to 6p.m.

How to bid

• You can bid in person. Christie's suggests providing your billing information to their bid department at least 48hrs prior to the auction.
• Can't be at the auction? You can bid online after registering at Christie's website, and leaving an absentee bid online. Or you can download a "written bid" form from their site, and fax it to Christie's at least 24hrs before the auction.
• You can bid over the phone, which is often reserved for the more expensive items up for bid.
• Be aware that if you do bid, there is a buyer's premium of 17.5% of the price paid for the item that is paid in addition to the cost of the item.

What you can bid for

Christie's has divided the auction into 4 themes:

• Supersonic Adventure - the cone at the end of the Concorde's nose is just one of the items of this theme.
• Technical Elements - Control panel instruments from the cockpit are included in this part of the auction.
• Souvenirs - the insides of the Concorde are for sale! Cockpit seats, flight manuals, even the tea service sets are up for auction.
• Photographs - prints tracing the history of the Concorde are up for bids.

If you just want to look and see what is up for bid, Christie's has the catalogue online for your browsing pleasure. It may tempt you to bring a little piece of this aviation history home.