A YORK museum could know in a fortnight whether its ambitious bid to "land" a Concorde has succeeded, it has emerged.

Curators at the Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, are crossing their fingers today after British Airways revealed it hoped to make an announcement on the fate of its supersonic aircraft within the next two weeks.

Concorde is due to retire from service next month when British Airways bosses will "give" a number of the pioneering jets to museums and organisations across the world.

The Elvington museum is one of 12 on the shortlist to house a Concorde and bosses believe the attraction could boost attendances by up to 50 per cent.

It is also believed the prospect of a Concorde in Yorkshire could also have a significant impact on the economy right across the county.

The museum has been visited several times by British Airways representatives and chiefs have given a written and oral presentation to the airline.

British Airways said it was not able to reveal the exact date of the announcement, but hoped it could tell all in the next couple of weeks.

A spokeswoman said: "It is still a case of getting some last-second details from some of the bidders and checking through those bids.

"It has taken a little longer than we thought because we want to make an announcement regarding all the aircraft and the winning sites at the same time.

"We are still hoping that we can do that in the next couple of weeks."

Ian Reed, director at the Yorkshire Air Museum, said the facility was still confident it could pull off a winning bid.

He said: "British Airways came to us again in a secret visit and were very positive about us. They seemed fairly happy with what we told them and we seem to fit all the parameters that they want.

"We think they are now looking at aesthetics and how the aircraft will be presented by the various bidders."

Updated: 10:26 Tuesday, September 02, 2003