Mike Bannister

Mike Bannister
Bannister (left) in 2006
Born	May 1949 (age 76)
Nationality	British
Known for	Chief Pilot of British Airways' Concorde fleet

Mike Bannister (born May 1949 ^[1] ) is an airline pilot. He is best known as the Chief Pilot of British Airways' Concorde fleet, ^{[2] [3]} a post which he held from 1995 until its withdrawal from service in 2003.

Education

Bannister graduated from the Ashton School, Dunstable, and the College of Air Training Hamble, having been awarded a Royal Air Force Flying Scholarship in 1966. ^[4]

Career

Bannister joined BOAC (British Airways' predecessor) in 1969 as a pilot and flight navigator on the Vickers VC10 fleet. ^[4] He joined the British Airways crew of Concorde in 1977 where he became its youngest pilot. In his Concorde career Bannister accumulated around 9,600 Concorde flight hours, almost 7,000 of which were supersonic. Bannister captained Concorde's retirement flight from New York to London on 24 October 2003. ^[5]

Since Concorde's retirement, Bannister has contributed significantly to the raising of over £350,000 for good causes^{[ clarification needed ]} by lectures, signings and personal contributions.^{[ citation needed ]} He holds voluntary roles including a Chair of School Governors of an independent school in Surrey, corporate non-executive directorships, lay chair of a parochial church council of the Anglican Church, and as a trustee of Brooklands Museum.^{[ citation needed ]}

He currently works for an aviation consultancy specialising in airline management and aircraft-related operational, safety, and security matters.^{[ citation needed ]}

He released a book, Concorde, in 2022 in which he writes about his flying experiences especially his flying career on Concorde.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Michael BANNISTER - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
2. "Concorde pilot Captain Mike Bannister head of BA Concorde fleet". Jeremyjosephs.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
3. "Concorde is Back!". concordesst.com. 7 November 2001. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
4. "Mike Bannister - Biography #1". www.concordespeakers.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
5. "End of an era for Concorde". BBC News. 24 October 2003.