New Issue: Concorde (GB)

Today Royal Mail has released its second new issue of 2026 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Concorde's first commercial flight on 21st January 1976.

Before I review this new issue, I will briefly take a look at the history of Concorde. Obviously I am not an expert in engineering and Concorde was before my time. I know that there are a lot of people who admire Concorde especially people who lived through the 1970s and 1980s when Concorde really was the ultimate flying machine. I don't have any memories of it so what I have learned is from books, photographs, the internet and other people.

Concorde is one of the most famous aircraft of all time, mainly because it was supersonic (it could fly faster than the speed of sound). It was created by Britain and France during the 1960s, when the two countries wanted to show how advanced their technology was. Instead of just building a normal passenger plane, they decided to try something much harder: a supersonic jet for regular people.

Concorde first flew in 1969, which was the same year humans landed on the Moon. That already made it feel special. When it entered passenger service in 1976, it could fly at about twice the speed of sound (Mach 2), which meant it could cross the Atlantic Ocean in around three and a half hours instead of eight. This made it the fastest commercial airplane in history. It must have felt incredible to people at the time.

After Concorde's first flight in 1969, Tony Benn, a government minister, made clear what the government wanted to achieve. He said: “It’ll change the shape of the world, it’ll shrink the globe by half. We’re trying to build the T-model Ford of the supersonics for the 1970s and 1980s.” He wanted quick, cheap travel for the masses and believed Concorde would achieve this.

However, Concorde was not an easy plane to run. It burned a huge amount of fuel, and tickets were extremely expensive. Because of the loud sonic boom it created, Concorde was not allowed to fly supersonic over land, so most flights were over the ocean. This meant there were only a few routes where it really made sense, especially between London or Paris and New York.

Even though it was not very practical, Concorde became a symbol of luxury and technology. Famous people, business leaders and celebrities loved flying on it. The plane also looked very distinctive, with its long pointed nose and sleek shape, which helped make it iconic. My dad says that Concorde was "a flying QE2", which I think means that there was a lot of high-minded talk about making this amazing form of travel available to everyone but ultimately only wealthy people could afford it.

My grandma knows exactly where she was on 21st January 1976 - she was in Paris! I asked her how excited people were about Concorde in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She told me "it was not quite as big as the moon landings" but it was "very impressive and exciting... people couldn't really imagine how it would be possible to travel at that speed. Concorde was distinctive because of its size, shape and speed - nothing like it had been seen before." She also told me that Concorde had an iconic droop nose that was hinged to allow pilots a better view when landing and taking off. People thought it was the most elegant plane that ever existed. There was a time when Concorde landed in Bournemouth for a special event in 1996 and 25,000 people turned out so see "Big Nose Day".

Importantly, Concorde was a symbol of national pride for both Britain and France. At a time when the USSR and USA were battling it out in the space race, it showed the world what they could achieve together by building something just as impressive. Concorde was a statement. Seeing Concorde take off made people feel proud of their engineers, scientists and pilots. It became a symbol of confidence, ambition and national achievement, even if it wasn’t practical in the long run.

In 2000, a Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff in Paris, killing everyone on board. It was a terrible tragedy that damaged people’s trust in the aircraft. After that, fewer people wanted to fly on Concorde, and the costs became even harder to justify, although it had been struggling for a while before the accident. In 2003, Concorde was officially retired. Why does Concorde deserve to be remembered? There are many reasons, not least that it was an incredible engineering achievement. It cruised reliably at Mach 2 for decades. It advanced aerodynamics and engine design. It had a terrific safety record (one fatal accident in 27 years). And, unlike other aircraft, it meant something politically and culturally.

That said, we should also remember its failures. And there were several. Concorde was supposed to redefine air travel and make supersonic flights available for everyone. It never did this, and "ordinary" people could never afford to travel on Concorde. Originally, it was planned for 200 Concorde aircraft to be in service - only 14 aircraft entered commercial service. This was partly to do with the fact that people promoting it had overlooked the problem of supersonic flight over land and the risk of sonic booms.

But it was also partly to do with another problem. Concorde was a great technical success but it was an economic failure. Development costs were never recovered. Because of the high costs it became a service for elite people willing to pay high fares, and so could never become a global system. It was also very inefficient at a time when there was an energy crisis and other airlines were becoming more fuel efficient. Some people saw this well before the first commercial flight in 1976. In 1972 Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, editor of the French newspaper L'Express, complained about "squander[ing] a fortune in public money, billions and billions, stubbornly carrying on with a Concorde we can only sell to ourselves". Two years later a US senator, Alan Cranston, said: "Its operation in a world beset by fuel and energy crises makes no sense at all."

I was amazed to discover that in February 1969, the month before the first flight, the British government was considering pulling out of the Concorde project. The first flight should have been in February 1968 but was delayed due to strikes, supply problems and the French government looking to cut back on its spending. There was a lot of uncertainty about whether Concorde would ever get off the ground and it's incredible to think that it was almost scrapped before it had even flown. However, after the successful maiden flight the British government became completely committed to Concorde.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Concorde was a government-backed project and a high-minded experiment. Did it work? One one level, absolutely - a supersonic aircraft was produced that would run for 27 years. But by the 1990s and early 2000s it was clear there was no new money for a new build or a redesign. Speed itself doesn't make a commercial model, otherwise people would be making buses that travel at 400 mph. Neither do political ambition and national pride.

In the 1960s, the idea of Concorde was ahead of its time. By the mid 1970s it was clear there would be some problems, especially around the costs, but it would have been embarrassing for the governments to pull out. By the late 1990s it had become trapped in a different time. At that point it would have been too expensive to reinvent it. So, 50 years to the day after Concorde's first ever commercial flight, I am thinking about whether a better commercial plan might have given Concorde a different future. I don't know for sure, but it's possible that with different thinking new versions of Concorde would be with us now, continuing to make aviation history.

Could it have really transformed travel in the way it was hoped 50 years ago? Maybe. But it seems to me that Concorde was a national symbol and an icon first and a transport system second. It did nothing to make mass travel cheap in the way Tony Benn and the British government believed it would.

Today, Concorde is remembered as an amazing idea that worked technically but not financially. It showed what humans could build, even if it wasn’t something the world could afford forever. Many of us remember it as a great British achievement, which I think is what Royal Mail's new stamps are celebrating. It was definitely one of the most exciting aircraft ever created.

Does there need to be a new set of stamps for Concorde? I don't think so. Yes, it's an anniversary, but is it that important? There was also a very good set celebrating Concorde in 1969. I know it is 57 years ago but it was an iconic set, more than fitting for an iconic jet.

There was another Concorde stamp produced in 2002 as part of the Airliners set.

And then there was this stamp from 2009, part of the British Design set.

In 2009 Royal Mail also issued various covers and sheets to mark the 40th anniversary of the first flight on 2nd March 1969, including this medal cover...

...and this quite incredible First Flight sheet...

...and this not quite so incredible (but still pretty good) smilers sheet.

There was also this cover to go along with the First Flight sheet...

...and this self-adhesive booklet.

That is quite a lot of Concorde-related philatelic items! Do we need more? In three years' time will there be another set to mark the 25th anniversary of the last flight? Royal Mail definitely know how to make money from Concorde! I'm not sure we needed another Concorde issue, especially when there are other anniversaries that should be marked. Yes, it is was an important event but Royal Mail created some pretty good items ten years ago. Why is Concorde's first commercial flight more important than the 100th anniversary of John Logie Baird's first television demonstration in just five days' time? (I think TV has had far more impact on the world than Concorde.)

However, Royal Mail has made its decision and no doubt fans of Concorde will be happy. So, what do I think of these particular stamps?

There are eight stamps in the main set, all first class. There are, of course, the usual extra products like collectors' sheets, silver and gold proof coin covers and press sheets. I'm not going to review these because there are far too many and... well, I'm not very interested. Royal Mail knows that there will be plenty of interest in Concorde merch... but I've made that point before. The stamps all show photographs of Concorde including pre-production flights, the first commercial flight, celebrations of 10 years in service and the final flight in 2003. They tell a story. Is it a success story or a sad one? Maybe it's both.

These new stamps are of a similar size to the 1969 set and the pre-decimal stamps of the time. I think that has been done on purpose and it is not a bad thing. Perhaps this is a tribute to the designers, Michael & Sylvia Goaman (4d) and David Gentleman (9d and 1/6), and also a way of reminding us of the 1969 issue and what a big deal Concorde was back then.

The miniature sheet is definitely a tribute to the Goamans and David Gentleman and it uses the three stamps from the 1969 set while curiously adding another. The design of this extra stamp is actually one of David Gentleman's designs that wasn't used in 1969 but has finally been used for a stamp 57 years later!

If you've read all this then you'll want to know how I have scored these stamps. I think you may be surprised! I wasn't very excited about this issue but it is better than I expected. Unusually I am including the miniature sheet in the review because it really adds something. Without it I don't think my scores would be quite as high. Design Quality - The miniature sheet is honestly the star of the whole thing. It’s based on the classic and absolutely brilliant 1969 Concorde stamp design, and that’s what makes it feel so special. The shapes are bold, the colours are strong, and it feels really confident and stylish, like the designers knew exactly what they were doing. It doesn’t need loads of detail because the design itself is clever. It feels futuristic even though it’s 57 years old, which I think shows that this was one of the greatest stamp issues ever.

The main set, though, is much less exciting. They’re mostly photographs with very simple layouts, and while the photos are fine they don’t really feel imaginative. They look more like something you’d see in a textbook or museum display rather than on stamps. Nothing about them really surprises you.

That said, they actually work quite well together. The main set feels factual and serious, showing Concorde’s real history, while the miniature sheet feels more artistic and iconic. It’s like one part is explaining Concorde, and the other part is celebrating it. So even though the newer designs feel a bit uninspired on their own, the contrast makes the miniature sheet stand out even more.   8/10

Theme and Subject Choice - Concorde is definitely a good subject. It’s one of the most famous planes ever, and it represents speed, technology, and ambition. Also, this is a major anniversary, so it makes sense to mark it with stamps.

The problem is that Concorde has been used so many times before. There have already been loads of Concorde stamps, covers, and special issues, so this doesn’t feel very fresh or necessary. It’s like, “Yes, Concorde is cool… but we already know that.”

Still, it’s such an important aircraft and such a big moment in history so it’s not a terrible choice. 6/10

Historical and Cultural Relevance - There’s no doubt that Concorde is historically and culturally important. It changed how people thought about air travel and became a symbol of modern Britain and advanced engineering.

But what about these stamps? Because Royal Mail has celebrated Concorde over and over again, these don’t feel as powerful as they could have. The story of Concorde isn’t new, and this set doesn’t really add anything new to how we understand it. 6/10

Innovation and Creativity - This is where the set is weakest.

The original 1969 design is one of the best British stamp designs ever—it was bold, modern, and completely different from anything else at the time. Compared to that, this modern tribute feels quite safe.

The new background on the miniature sheet is creative and shows some effort, and the idea of honouring the original designers is really nice. But apart from that, the new designs don’t really push boundaries. The main stamps, especially, feel very plain and predictable.

They do the job, but they don’t feel inspired and they don’t make you stop and think, “Wow, that’s clever", which a set about Concorde really should.  5/10

Collectability - These stamps will definitely be collectable. Concorde has loads of fans, and people who collect aviation or history-themed stamps will want them.

The miniature sheet, especially, feels like something collectors will really value because of its link to the famous 1969 design. Even if the main set is less exciting, having everything together as a complete issue makes it more appealing.

So while they might not become legendary collectibles, they’re still going to be popular. 7/10

Personal appeal - I actually like these more than I thought I would. The tribute to the designers of the 1969 stamp is amazing, and that miniature sheet really won me over. It feels respectful, stylish, and meaningful.

I definitely prefer the miniature sheet to the main set, but I like how they complement each other. One feels artistic and iconic, the other feels factual and historical.

Overall, while I think it could have been done better, this set feels quite thoughtful and the miniature sheet is outstanding. 8/10

Overall score - 40/60

This has taken me a long time to write and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. I have definitely enjoyed learning more about Concorde. Thanks to my dad, my grandma, Mr Crossley and everyone else who helped me.

If you are interested in reading more about the history of the 1969 Concorde stamps, this is a brilliant article from the Postal Museum. It's full of fascinating facts. Did you know if it wasn't for a Mr Doubtfire, who sent a proposal to Royal Mail along with his own design (above), that there may never have been a Concorde issue in 1969? I was also quite astonished to discover that over 100,000 presentation packs were sold in the English language and almost 3,000 in German, while no-one thought to create any in French! So much for the UK-France partnership!