THE director of an aviation museum near Swindon doubts that Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson's bid for Concorde will come to fruition.

The Swindon area - and specifically RAF Fairford - was part of the Concorde story since its beginnings in the late 1960s.

Both British Airways and Air France are due to retire their Concorde fleets in October, with several thought to be bound for museums in the United States and Germany.

Oliver Dearden, director of the Bristol Aero Collection museum at Kemble, doubts whether Virgin will get the Concorde.

Mr Dearden, who is applying for a Concorde for an exhibiton in Bristol, said: "We don't yet know all the reasons why British Air-ways and Air France have decided to retire the aircraft.

"Concorde is a very expensive to operate and we don't know what further work maybe required. If it can be kept flying, though, that will please many people."

Virgin has offered a £1-per-plane bid to British Airways for its fleet of seven Concordes.

Earlier this week, Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt said she was very interested in Sir Richard's bid to buy the aircraft.

Branson who employs 1,200 people at Virgin Mobile in Trow-bridge has set out his vision for the aircraft, saying he would be prepared to run it at a loss for sake of the prestige the aircraft would bring to his Virgin Atlantic airline.

He accused BA of being "incredibly obstructive" over the affair, adding: "I think that they would be concerned about Virgin making a success of it, having decided to close it down."

He pledged to make the aeroplane both profitable and more affordable, and said: "We are extremely determined to see Concorde continue to fly.

"We believe it has potential and as much as 20 to 25 years of good flying life left in it."

"Concorde is a great ambassador to Britain and should be in the air and not be broken up and sold."

Sir Richard now plans to enter talks with the Government about the airliner's future. He added: "We are not asking for any money from the Government. We will just be asking the Government to intervene so that what was paid for by the British taxpayer is not broken up."

The Swindon area has extensive connections with the supersonic airliner. In 1969, the first British prototype, 002 was flown from the factory at Filton in Bristol to the Concorde test base at RAF Fairford, from where the aircraft was put through its paces before entering full airline service.

Its test pilot, Brian Trubshaw, from the village of Cherington near Tetbury, became a household name after taking Concorde on its maiden flight. He died in 2001.

The fortunes of the aircraft suffered, however, following the crash of an Air France Concorde just outside Paris in 2000, which killed 113 people.