Concorde operational history#Retirement

{{Main|1973 Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001}}

Concorde 001 was modified with rooftop portholes for use on the 1973 solar eclipse mission and equipped with observation instruments. It performed the longest observation of a solar eclipse to date, about 74 minutes.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse/ |title=When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |author=Chris Hatherill |date=9 March 2016 |magazine=Motherboard |publisher=Vice |access-date=8 May 2017 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303232010/https://www.vice.com/en/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |url-status=live}}

File:British Airways Concorde official handover ceremony Fitzgerald.jpg

File:F-BTSC Air France Concorde at CDG Airport, 1975.jpg on 25 July 1975, exactly 25 years before the accident in 2000]]

File:Singapore Airlines Concorde Fitzgerald-1.jpg livery at Heathrow Airport in 1979]]

File:Concorde in Dallas (3).jpg, at Dallas Fort Worth Airport in February 1980]]

File:Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) short-lived Pepsi logojet.jpg livery in 1996]]

File:Air France Concorde Jonsson.jpg in 2003]]

Scheduled flights began on 21 January 1976 on the London–Bahrain and Paris–Rio de Janeiro (via Dakar) routes,{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035500 |title=Concorde in Service |author=Strang, Dr. W.J |author2=R. McKinley |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |volume=50 |issue=12 |year=1978 |issn=0002-2667 |pages=2–10|author-link = Bill Strang (engineer)}} with BA flights using the Speedbird Concorde call sign to notify air traffic control of the aircraft's unique abilities and restrictions, but the French using their normal call signs.{{cite web|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7422409257931235094 |title=BA Tribute to Concorde. The takeoff scene at the end of the video contains a clip of the ATC communication with the "Speedbird Concorde" |publisher=British Airways |access-date=11 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531215441/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7422409257931235094 |archive-date=31 May 2010}} The Paris-Caracas route (via Azores) began on 10 April. The US Congress had just banned Concorde landings in the US, mainly due to citizen protest over sonic booms, preventing launch on the coveted North Atlantic routes. The US Secretary of Transportation, William Coleman, gave permission for Concorde service to Dulles International Airport, and Air France and British Airways simultaneously began a thrice-weekly service to Dulles on 24 May 1976.{{cite journal |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/tportl8&div=7&id=&page= |title=Safety Regulation of the Concorde Supersonic Transport: Realistic Confinement of the National Environmental Policy Act |journal=Transportation Law Journal |volume=8 |page=47 |first=Robert B |last=Donin |publisher=HeinOnline |date=1976 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902184858/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals%2Ftportl8&div=7&id=&page= |url-status=live}} Due to low demand, AF cancelled its Washington service in October 1982, while BA cancelled it in November 1994.{{cite news|last1=Chandrasekaran|first1=Rajiv|title=Last liftoff: Concorde departs Dulles for good|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/11/09/last-liftoff-concorde-departs-dulles-for-good/749ec35b-bfee-485c-ab57-ec31a6d55a0b/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=9 November 1994|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=7 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207182843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/11/09/last-liftoff-concorde-departs-dulles-for-good/749ec35b-bfee-485c-ab57-ec31a6d55a0b/|url-status=live}}

When the US ban on JFK Concorde operations was lifted in February 1977, New York banned Concorde locally. The ban came to an end on 17 October 1977 when the Supreme Court of the United States declined to overturn a lower court's ruling rejecting efforts by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a grass-roots campaign led by Carol Berman to continue the ban.{{cite news |last=O'Grady |first=Jim |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-rockaways-ears-ringing-it-s-cheering-over-demise-concorde.html |title=Neighborhood Report: The Rockaways; Ears Ringing? It's Cheering Over the Demise of the Concorde |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=27 April 2003 |archive-date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108090557/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-rockaways-ears-ringing-it-s-cheering-over-demise-concorde.html |url-status=live}} Despite complaints about noise, the report noted that Air Force One, at the time a Boeing VC-137, was louder than Concorde at subsonic speeds and during takeoff and landing.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915764,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215032737/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915764,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2008 |title=The Nation: Smooth Landing for the Birds |magazine=Time |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=5 December 1977}} Scheduled service from Paris and London to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport began on 22 November 1977.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html#facts_figures |title=Concorde facts and figures |publisher=British Airways |access-date=11 January 2010 |archive-date=11 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311003638/http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html#facts_figures |url-status=live}}

In December 1977, BA and Singapore Airlines started sharing a Concorde for flights between London and Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar via Bahrain. The aircraft, BA's Concorde G-BOAD, was painted in Singapore Airlines livery on the left side and BA livery on the right side.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3PkQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4864,7521914 |title=Concorde by June: Offer to Qantas |first=Ross |last=Warneke |work=The Age |date=25 October 1977 |location=Australia}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70611FE3C5E167493C6A8178BD95F438785F9 |title=Singapore Concorde flights |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=14 October 1977 |archive-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109051122/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70611FE3C5E167493C6A8178BD95F438785F9 |url-status=live}} The service was discontinued after three return flights because of noise complaints from the Malaysian government;{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F15F6395416768FDDAE0994DA415B878BF1D3 |title=London and Singapore halt Concorde service |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=17 December 1977 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111115450/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F15F6395416768FDDAE0994DA415B878BF1D3 |url-status=live}}{{failed verification|date=March 2024|reason=Article mentions "'environmental' grounds," but nothing about noise.}} it could only be reinstated on a new route bypassing Malaysian airspace in 1979. A dispute with India prevented Concorde from reaching supersonic speeds in Indian airspace, so the route was eventually declared not viable and discontinued in 1980.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eZckAAAAIBAJ&pg=2330,3152191 |title=Concorde route cut |work=Montreal Gazette |date=16 September 1980 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095530/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eZckAAAAIBAJ&pg=2330,3152191 |url-status=live}}

During the Mexican oil boom, AF flew Concorde twice weekly to Mexico City's Mexico City International Airport via Washington, DC, or New York City, from September 1978 to November 1982.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uekpAAAAIBAJ&pg=4845,5120670 |title=French Concorde to Mexico City |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=11 August 1978 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102092642/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uekpAAAAIBAJ&pg=4845,5120670 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TuwwAAAAIBAJ&pg=3054,6003139 |title=Supersonic Jet flights suspended |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=27 September 1982 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126025924/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TuwwAAAAIBAJ&pg=3054,6003139 |url-status=live}} The worldwide economic crisis during that period resulted in this route's cancellation; the last flights were almost empty. The routing between Washington or New York and Mexico City included a deceleration, from Mach 2.02 to Mach 0.95, to cross Florida subsonically and avoid creating a sonic boom over the state; Concorde then re-accelerated back to high speed while crossing the Gulf of Mexico. On 1 April 1989, on an around-the-world luxury tour charter, BA implemented changes to this routing that allowed G-BOAF to maintain Mach 2.02 by passing around Florida to the east and south. Periodically Concorde visited the region on similar chartered flights to Mexico City and Acapulco.{{cite book|last1=Cramoisi|first1=George|title=Air Crash Investigations: The End of the Concorde Era, the Crash of Air France Flight 4590|date=2010|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-0-557-84950-5|page=510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aekGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA510|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414103543/https://books.google.com/books?id=aekGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA510|url-status=live}}

From December 1978 to May 1980, Braniff International Airways leased 11 Concordes, five from AF and six from BA.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/646052352.html?dids=646052352:646052352&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+10%2C+1977&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Braniff+Seeks+Deal+to+Fly+Concorde+in+U.S.&pqatl=google |title=Braniff seeks deal to fly Concorde in U.S |work=Los Angeles Times |first=John |last=Getze |date=10 February 1977 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312130613/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/646052352.html?dids=646052352:646052352&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+10,+1977&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Braniff+Seeks+Deal+to+Fly+Concorde+in+U.S.&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}} These were used on subsonic flights between Dallas–Fort Worth and Dulles International Airport, flown by Braniff flight crews.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/647634162.html?dids=647634162:647634162&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+22%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Concorde+Flights+to+Texas+OKd&pqatl=google |title=Concorde flights to Texas Ok'd |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=22 June 1978 |archive-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107234642/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/647634162.html?dids=647634162:647634162&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+22%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Concorde+Flights+to+Texas+OKd&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}} AF and BA crews then took over for the continuing supersonic flights to London and Paris.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VAQkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6783,4192544 |title=Concorde now reaping profits on N.Y. route |work=The Spokesman-Review |date=23 November 1979 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095529/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VAQkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6783,4192544 |url-status=live}} The aircraft were registered in both the United States and their home countries; the European registration was covered while being operated by Braniff, retaining full AF/BA liveries. The flights were not profitable and typically less than 50% booked, forcing Braniff to end its tenure as the only US Concorde operator in May 1980.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-2UaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6806,4059124 |title=Braniff to halt US Concorde flights |work=Milwaukee Journal |date=16 April 1980 |access-date=30 June 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00911FA3C5C17728DDDA80894DE405B8084F1D3 |title=Concorde flights between Texas and Europe end; Big Dreams at the start, $1,447 for flight to Paris |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=1 June 1980 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103103535/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00911FA3C5C17728DDDA80894DE405B8084F1D3 |url-status=live}}

In its early years, BA's Concorde service had a greater number of "no-shows" (passengers who booked a flight and then failed to appear at the gate for boarding) than any other aircraft in the fleet.Allen, Roy, "Concorde The Magnificent," Airliner Classics, July 2012, p. 63.

Following the launch of British Airways Concorde services, Britain's other major airline, British Caledonian (BCal), set up a task force headed by Gordon Davidson, BA's former Concorde director, to investigate the possibility of their own Concorde operations.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200919.html "B.CAL appoints Concorde consultant".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724065433/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200919.html |date=24 July 2012}} Flight International, 24 March 1979, p. 881.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201617.html "Caledonian reports best results".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723125107/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201617.html |date=23 July 2012}} Flight International, 12 May 1979, p. 1547.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202664.html "New job for B.CAL Concorde man".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724062144/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202664.html |date=24 July 2012}} Flight International, 21 July 1979, p. 158. This was seen as particularly viable for the airline's long-haul network as there were two unsold aircraft then available for purchase.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200541.html "B.CAL to lease unsold Concorde?".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723181123/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200541.html |date=23 July 2012}} Flight International, 24 February 1979, p. 517.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201182.html "Tories support B.CAL's Concorde plan".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724100250/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201182.html |date=24 July 2012}} Flight International, 14 April 1979, p. 1132.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201348.html World News.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723021007/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201348.html |date=23 July 2012}} Flight International, 28 April 1979, p. 1286.

One important reason for BCal's interest in Concorde was that the British Government's 1976 aviation policy review had opened the possibility of BA setting up supersonic services in competition with BCal's established sphere of influence. To counteract this potential threat, BCal considered their own independent Concorde plans, as well as a partnership with BA.{{cite book |title=High Risk: The Politics of the Air |last1=Thomson |first1=Adam |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd |publication-place=London |year=1990 |pages=316–17 |isbn=978-0283995996}}{{cite magazine |title=B.CAL drops Concorde plans but asks for Hong Kong licence |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202433.html |magazine=Flight International |date=30 June 1979 |page=2331 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723000537/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202433.html |url-status=dead}} BCal were considered most likely to have set up a Concorde service on the Gatwick–Lagos route, a major source of revenue and profits within BCal's scheduled route network;{{cite magazine |title=BCAL's African Profit... |magazine=Flight International |date=23 December 1971 |page=994 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202766.html |access-date=27 August 2018 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106191437/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202766.html |url-status=dead}}"The Caledonian punchbag", Flight International, 21 March 1987, p. 33. BCal's Concorde task force did assess the viability of a daily supersonic service complementing the existing subsonic widebody service on this route.{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201007.html|title=1979 – 1007 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com|access-date=23 January 2012|archive-date=24 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724102004/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201007.html|url-status=live}}

BCal entered into a bid to acquire at least one Concorde. However, BCal eventually arranged for two aircraft to be leased from BA and Aérospatiale respectively, to be maintained by either BA or AF. BCal's envisaged two-Concorde fleet would have required a high level of aircraft usage to be cost-effective; therefore, BCal had decided to operate the second aircraft on a supersonic service between Gatwick and Atlanta, with a stopover at either Gander or Halifax. Consideration was given to services to Houston and various points on its South American network at a later stage.{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201711.html|title=1979 – 1711 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com|access-date=23 January 2012|archive-date=23 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723040124/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201711.html|url-status=live}} Both supersonic services were to be launched at some point during 1980; however, steeply rising oil prices caused by the 1979 energy crisis led to BCal shelving their supersonic ambitions.

By around 1981 in the UK, the future for Concorde looked bleak. The British government had lost money operating Concorde every year, and moves were afoot to cancel the service entirely. A cost projection came back with greatly reduced metallurgical testing costs because the test rig for the wings had built up enough data to last for 30 years and could be shut down. Despite this, the government was not keen to continue. In 1983, BA's managing director, Sir John King, convinced the government to sell the aircraft outright to the then state-owned British Airways for {{FXConvert|GBR|16.5|m|year=1983|lk=on|showdate=no}} plus the first year's profits.{{Cite book |last=Spufford |first=Francis |url=https://archive.org/details/backroomboyssecr0000spuf |title=Backroom Boys: The Secret Return of the British Boffin |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=2003 |isbn=9780571214976 |location=London |oclc=59876611 |author-link=Francis Spufford |url-access=registration}}{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/632500842.html?dids=632500842:632500842&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+01%2C+1984&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=The+plane+fact+is%2C+Concorde+has+broken+the+profit+barrier+for+the+first+time&pqatl=google |title=The plane fact is, Concorde has broken the profit barrier for the first time |work=Chicago Tribune |first=Peter |last=Greenberg |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=1 April 1984 |archive-date=2 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602021403/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/632500842.html?dids=632500842:632500842&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+01%2C+1984&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=The+plane+fact+is%2C+Concorde+has+broken+the+profit+barrier+for+the+first+time&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}} In 2003, in a radio interview with Alan Robb on BBC Radio 5 Live, Lord Heseltine, the minister then responsible, acknowledged that the plane was sold "next to nothing" and agreed the deal was among the most disastrous conducted by a government minister; "but if you have your hands tied behind your back and no cards and a very skilful negotiator on the other side of the table... I defy you to do any [better]."{{cite news |first=Melissa |last=Kite |date=25 October 2003 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/heseltine-admits-his-humiliation-3m995gpzqmx |title=Heseltine admits his humiliation |website=The Times |access-date=24 January 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124201203/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/heseltine-admits-his-humiliation-3m995gpzqmx |url-status=live}}

Its estimated operating costs were $3,800 per block hour in 1972 ({{inflation|US|3800|1972|fmt=eq}}), compared to actual 1971 operating costs of $1,835 for a 707 and $3,500 for a 747 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1835|1971|fmt=c}} and ${{Inflation|US|3500|1971|fmt=c}}, respectively); for a {{convert|3050|nmi|km|abbr=on}} London–New York sector, a 707 cost $13,750 or 3.04¢ per seat/nmi (in 1971 dollars), a 747 $26,200 or 2.4¢ per seat/nmi and Concorde $14,250 or 4.5¢ per seat/nmi.{{cite news |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202061.html |title=Can Concorde make a profit? |author=Peter G. Masefield |pages=214–216 |work=Flight International |date=10 August 1972 |access-date=9 January 2018 |archive-date=9 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109235336/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202061.html |url-status=live}} On a transatlantic flight, having a cruising speed of more than double a B-707, Concorde required less than half the number of block hours per trip. This illustrates that these two aircraft types were designed for entirely different flight regimes (subsonic versus supersonic) and different markets, so a direct comparison is not possible. A more direct operating cost per seat mile would be against a subsonic first class seat while factoring twice the flight time as a cost increasing component.{{cite book |url=https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1980/8001/800105.PDF |chapter=Variables affecting a supersonic transport market |title=Advanced High-Speed Aircraft |pages=38–49}}

In 1983, Pan Am accused the British Government of subsidising BA Concorde air fares, on which a return London–New York was £2,399 (£{{inflation|UK|2,399|1983|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}} prices), compared to £1,986 (£{{inflation|UK|1,986|1983|fmt=c}}) with a subsonic first class return, and London–Washington return was £2,426 (£{{inflation|UK|2,426|1983|fmt=c}}) instead of £2,258 (£{{inflation|UK|2,258|1983|fmt=c}}) subsonic.{{cite news |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1984/1984%20-%200003.html |title=Concorde fares anger Pan Am |magazine=Flight International |date=7 January 1984 |page=3 |access-date=9 January 2018 |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107114132/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1984/1984%20-%200003.html |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |work=UPI |date=27 December 1983 |title=Pan American World Airways Tuesday charged the British government... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/27/Pan-American-World-Airways-Tuesday-charged-the-British-government/2778441349200/ |access-date=3 February 2019 |language=en |archive-date=3 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203085036/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/27/Pan-American-World-Airways-Tuesday-charged-the-British-government/2778441349200/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=British Airways |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/29/business/british-airways.html |access-date=3 February 2019 |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=29 December 1983 |archive-date=3 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203090706/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/29/business/british-airways.html}} However, by this time, Concorde was operating in its own P&L division with no subsidy available to it.{{cite web | url=https://www.key.aero/article/inside-story-how-ba-made-more-ps500m-profit-concorde | title=The inside story of how BA made more than £500m profit from Concorde | date=25 November 2023 }}

Concorde's unit cost was then $33.8 million{{cite magazine |title=Airliner price index |magazine=Flight International |date=10 August 1972 |page=183 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202020.html |access-date=9 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181149/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202020.html |archive-date=9 January 2018 |url-status=live}} (${{format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|33.8e6|1972}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars{{Inflation-fn|US-GDP}}). BA and AF benefited from a significantly reduced purchase price from the manufacturing consortium via their respective governments.{{Cite web|title=Concorde, An Unexpected Success, Marks 10th Anniversary|url=https://apnews.com/article/fa1e281d544267a8afe77afceaf3f03f|access-date=19 February 2021|publisher=AP News|url-status=live|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414125219/https://apnews.com/article/fa1e281d544267a8afe77afceaf3f03f}}

After six years of on and off profitability, in 1982 Concorde was established in its own operating division (Concorde Division) under Capt. Brian Walpole and Capt. Jock Lowe.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=97}} Their research revealed that regular passengers thought that the fare was higher than it actually was (business travellers were the majority of passengers), so the airline raised ticket prices to match these perceptions{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html |title=NOVA transcript: Supersonic Dream |publisher=PBS |date=18 January 2005 |quote=Jock Lowe (Concorde Chief Pilot): We did some research which showed that the Concorde passengers actually didn't know how much the fare was. When we asked them to guess how much it was, they guessed that it was higher than it actually was, so we just started to charge them what they thought they were paying anyway. |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405035636/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/end-of-the-concorde-jets |title=Hooked on Supersonics |author=David Kamp |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=October 2003 |access-date=31 July 2018 |archive-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217234507/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/10/end-of-the-concorde-jets |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB29A63D671E93E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |title=The Concorde belies those who foresaw its extinction |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=26 January 1986 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070205/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB29A63D671E93E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2935337.stm |title=Why economists don't fly Concorde |first=James |last=Arnold |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2003 |access-date=2 March 2008 |archive-date=18 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518085512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2935337.stm |url-status=live}} and, following the marketing research and repositioning, Concorde ran profitably for BA. The ticket price was pitched about 10–15% above subsonic first class (1996 £4,772 versus subsonic first class £4,314) adding to its corporate appeal and ensuring loyalty from regular users which brought regular load factors of around 80%. {{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=131}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=F2D_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 New Design Concepts for High Speed Air Transport] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902184857/https://books.google.com/books?id=F2D_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|date=2 September 2019}} edited by H. Sobieczky (1997) p. 2

Over the next twenty years, BA's Concordes earned over half a billion pounds in profit with (typically) just five aircraft operating and two in various maintenance cycles.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=131}}{{cite web |title=The inside story of how BA made more than £500m profit from Concorde |date=February 2021|url=https://www.key.aero/article/inside-story-how-ba-made-more-ps500m-profit-concorde#:~:text=The%20result%20of%20this%20change,billion%20pounds%20profit%20for%20BA.%E2%80%9D}}

Air France and Interflug shared the same office building in Paris in the 1980s. Due to their socialistic persuasions, both of them developed kinships for each other. The Air France staff proposed limited Concorde service to Leipzig during the Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig book fair), carrying the business people. The East German government agreed to allow the Concorde flights to Leipzig and made the special accommodations for the “friendship flights”. Klaus Henkes, the deputy transport minister and the former general director of Interflug, was one of the most powerful East German governmental officials, and he made the quick arrangements and granted the special flight certificate for the Concorde flights within East Germany.{{cite web|url= https://www.mdr.de/tv/programm/sendung-868244.html |title= LEJ exklusiv: Der Flughafen Leipzig-Halle |first=Dirk |last=Schneider |date=13 July 2023 |work=MDR |accessdate=15 December 2024}}

The Yalta Conference of 1945 stipulated lot of restrictions about flying over East Germany to Berlin (West) from West Germany. Additionally, the stipulations did not allow the Allies-designated airways such as Air France to divert from one of three corridors to other aeroports in East Germany. Instead, Concorde entered East Germany from Baltic Sea via Denmark.

Mr Henkes also allowed the Concorde to fly at Mach 1.5 over East Germany prior to arrival at Leipzig aeroport during its first flight as this specific route was designated as military flight practice with fighters flying at supersonic speed. The overland speed record by the passenger aeroplane over the European land remains unbroken to this day.{{cite web|url= https://www.mz.de/mitteldeutschland/leipzig/flughafen-leipzig-in-der-ddr-als-franzosen-und-briten-zur-messe-kamen-1539744 |title= Flughafen Leipzig in der DDR: Als Franzosen und Briten zur Messe kamen |first=Kai |last=Agthe |lang=de |date=30 March 2019 |work=Mitteldeutsche Zeitung |accessdate=15 December 2024}}

About 30,000 to 40,000 East Germans showed up at and around the aeroport along with many employees stopping their jobs to witness the momentous event of first Concorde landing on 18 March 1986.{{cite web|url= https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/mitteldeutschland/jahrestage/kalenderblatt-talkshow-je-spaeter-der-abend-peter-ensikat-maerz-revolution-100.html#sprung4 |title= Das geschah am 18. März |lang=de |date=18 March 2023 |accessdate=15 December 2024 |work=MDR}}

Air France made the several flights during the Leipziger Buchmesse in the spring and autumn until 1990 while British Airways made a single return flight between London and Leipzig with its G-BOAF two days later on 20 March.{{cite web|url= https://www.airliners.de/vor-20-jahren-landete-auf-dem-flughafen-leipzighalle-erstmals-uberschallflugzeug-concorde-in-der-ddr/7874 |title= Vor 20 Jahren landete auf dem Flughafen Leipzig/Halle erstmals Überschallflugzeug Concorde in der DDR |lang=de |work=Airliners |date=10 March 2006 |accessdate=15 December 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lvz.de/lokales/leipzig/besuch-der-concorde-in-leipzig-T6JM76DNPRS2FJATLBQPBP2WME.html |title=Besuch der Concorde in Leipzig |lang=de |date=18 March 2016 |work=Leipziger Volkszeitung |accessdate=15 December 2024}} Leipzig aeroport remained the only one in the Communist Bloc that served Concorde and only one in Germany that received the frequent Concorde flights.

Between March 1984 and January 1991, BA flew a thrice-weekly Concorde service between London and Miami, stopping at Dulles International Airport.{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35E9473D0D942&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |title=Concorde to fly Miami-London route |work=Miami Herald |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=24 January 1984 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070228/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35E9473D0D942&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB342A3394157C7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |title=Cuts ground Concorde from Miami to London |website=Miami Herald |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=13 January 1991 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070238/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB342A3394157C7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live}} Until 2003, AF and BA continued to operate the New York services daily. From 1987 to 2003, BA flew a Saturday morning Concorde service to Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados, during the summer and winter holiday season.{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R_oxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4247,5250844 |title=After eight years, the Concorde flies to supersonic profit |work=Reading Eagle |date=27 March 1984 |first=Gregory |last=Jensen |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095405/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R_oxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4247,5250844 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Calder|first1=Simon|title=Concorde and supersonic travel: the days when the sun rose in the west|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/concorde-and-supersonic-travel-the-days-when-the-sun-rose-in-the-west-8888836.html|website=The Independent|access-date=8 January 2018|date=19 October 2013|archive-date=19 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119183751/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/concorde-and-supersonic-travel-the-days-when-the-sun-rose-in-the-west-8888836.html|url-status=live}}

Prior to the Air France Paris crash, several UK and French tour operators operated charter flights to European destinations on a regular basis;{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/64470984.html?dids=64470984:64470984&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+23%2C+1985&author=PETER+S.+GREENBERG&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Flying+Via+Charter+Off+to+New+Bustle&pqatl=google |title=Flying via charter off to New Bustle |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Peter S. |last=Greenberg |date=23 June 1985 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312130555/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/64470984.html?dids=64470984:64470984&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+23,+1985&author=PETER+S.+GREENBERG&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Flying+Via+Charter+Off+to+New+Bustle&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/474815901.html?dids=474815901:474815901&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+18%2C+1986&author=Jay+Clarke+Special+to+The+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Supersonic+Concorde+10+years+in+service+and+still+confounding+critics&pqatl=google |title=Supersonic Concorde 10 years in service and still confounding critics |work=Toronto Star |first=Jay |last=Clark |date=18 January 1986 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312130653/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/474815901.html?dids=474815901:474815901&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+18,+1986&author=Jay+Clarke+Special+to+The+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Supersonic+Concorde+10+years+in+service+and+still+confounding+critics&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}} the charter business was viewed as lucrative by BA and AF.{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1986/1986%20-%200201.html |title=Concorde money is in charters |work=Flight International |date=25 January 1986 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204172603/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1986/1986%20-%200201.html |url-status=live}}

In 1997, BA held a promotional contest to mark the 10th anniversary of the airline's move into the private sector. The promotion was a lottery to fly to New York held for 190 tickets valued at £5,400 each, to be offered at £10. Contestants had to call a special hotline to compete with up to 20 million people.[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+BEAT+20m+TO+LAND+LAST+pounds+10+SEATS+ON+CONCORDE%3B+Joe+grabs...-a061046466 "I beat 20 m to land last pounds 10 seats on Concorde; Joe grabs bargain of a lifetime."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215336/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+BEAT+20m+TO+LAND+LAST+pounds+10+SEATS+ON+CONCORDE%3B+Joe+grabs...-a061046466 |date=3 September 2015}} Scottish Daily Record & Sunday (Glasgow, Scotland), 13 February 1997. Retrieved: 13 November 2012.

File:Concorde on Bristol.jpg of the fuselage is evident.]]

On 10 April 2003, Air France and British Airways simultaneously announced they would retire Concorde later that year.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |title=Concorde grounded for good |work=BBC News |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=10 April 2003 |archive-date=4 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804154034/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |url-status=live}} They cited low passenger numbers following the 25 July 2000 crash, the slump in air travel following the September 11 attacks, and rising maintenance costs: Airbus, the company that acquired Aérospatiale in 2000, had made a decision in 2003 to no longer supply replacement parts for the aircraft.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |title=Concorde grounded for good |publisher=BBC News |date=10 April 2003 |access-date=15 June 2013 |archive-date=4 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804154034/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/30/concorde.nofly.reut/ |title=Concorde not to fly at air shows |publisher=CNN |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=30 October 2003 |archive-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623134904/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/30/concorde.nofly.reut/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Simpkins |first=Edward |date=15 June 2003 |title=Buffett vehicle to follow in Concorde's slipstream |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2855044/Buffett-vehicle-to-follow-in-Concordes-slipstream.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2855044/Buffett-vehicle-to-follow-in-Concordes-slipstream.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |quote=Airbus, the manufacturer of Concorde, has said it is becoming uneconomic to maintain the ageing craft and that it will no longer provide spare parts for it.}}{{cbignore}}

Concorde was technologically advanced when introduced in the 1970s, and while in 2003, its analogue cockpit may have appeared outdated, an upgrade was not necessary or a regulatory requirement, as it was still contemporary with other aircraft such as the Boeing 747-300 in service at the time. British Airways had completed patterning of replacement avionics spares with modern avionics equivalents and so had access to the necessary spares it needed to continue operations. The airframes had undergone a life extension survey that proved them to be in better than expected conditionOrlebar, Christopher. The Concorde Story, 7th ed. 2011 Osprey Books pp. 136–137 with the same number of flight cycles as an average 7 year old B-737 and BA, in conjunction with BAe and Aerospatiale, (dubbed Concorde Relife Group), had the airframe certified for continued operation until 2014/15.{{cite web | url=https://www.flightglobal.com/ageing-aircraft/5034.article | title=Ageing aircraft }} There had been little commercial pressure to upgrade Concorde due to its low flight cycles, a lack of competing aircraft and the fact that the aircraft remained sustainably profitable in its current configuration. By its retirement, it was the last aircraft in the British Airways fleet that had a flight engineer.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106504293992222300?mod=googlewsj |title=Final Boarding Call: As Concorde Departs, so do 3-Man Crews: In New Cockpits, Engineers are seen as Extra Baggage |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Danial |last=Michaels |date=2 October 2003 |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005000348/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106504293992222300?mod=googlewsj |url-status=live}}

On 11 April 2003, Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson announced that the company was interested in purchasing BA's Concorde fleet "for the same price that they were given them for – one pound".{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/04/11/biz.trav.concorde/|title=Concorde not for sale, says BA|publisher=CNN|access-date=2 June 2013|date=11 April 2003|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203055907/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/04/11/biz.trav.concorde/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Fabled-Concorde-to-fly-off-into-sunset-British-2622958.php|title=Fabled Concorde to fly off into sunset / British, French airlines to retire supersonic jet|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2 June 2013|first=David|last=Armstrong|date=11 April 2003|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004919/http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Fabled-Concorde-to-fly-off-into-sunset-British-2622958.php|url-status=live}} BA dismissed the idea, prompting Virgin to increase their offer to £1 million each.{{cite news|url=http://www.spacedaily.com/news/concord-03a.html|title=Virgin Increases Concorde Bid|work=Space Daily|agency=AFP|access-date=21 March 2013|archive-date=17 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517115445/http://www.spacedaily.com/news/concord-03a.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1433748/Branson-increases-offer-for-Concorde.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1433748/Branson-increases-offer-for-Concorde.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| title=Branson increases offer for Concorde |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=2 June 2013|location=London|date=22 June 2003}}{{cbignore}} Branson claimed that when BA was privatised, a clause in the agreement required them to allow another British airline to operate Concorde if BA ceased to do so, but the Government denied the existence of such a clause.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3005705.stm |title=Branson's Concorde bid rejected |work=BBC News |first=Simon |last=Montague |date=6 May 2003 |access-date=13 January 2010 |archive-date=5 May 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040505000557/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3005705.stm |url-status=live}} In October 2003, Branson wrote in The Economist that his final offer was "over £5 million" and that he had intended to operate the fleet "for many years to come".{{cite web |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-109201077 |title=Branson accuses 'sad' Government of washing its hands of Concorde |work=Western Mail |date=24 October 2003 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125024503/https://www.gale.com/databases/questia |url-status=live}} UK Civil Aviation Authority regulatory requirements would have only allowed Virgin Atlantic to add Concorde to its Air Operator Certificate after it demonstrated the engineering and aircrew expertise necessary to operate and sustain it.{{cite web | url=https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-industry/aircraft/operations/air-operator-certificates/permissions-approvals-variations-and-exemptions/ | title=Permissions, approvals, variations and exemptions | Civil Aviation Authority }}

It has been suggested that Concorde was not withdrawn for the reasons usually given but that it became apparent during the grounding of Concorde that the airlines could make more profit carrying first-class passengers subsonically.{{cite web |url=http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2003/0411.htm |title=Concorde: An Untimely and Unnecessary Demise |work=Travel Insider |date=2003 |access-date=13 January 2010 |archive-date=27 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127215542/http://thetravelinsider.info/2003/0411.htm |url-status=live}} A lack of commitment to Concorde from Director of Engineering Alan MacDonald may have undermined BA's resolve to continue operating Concorde.{{cite web |url=http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/concorde.htm |title=The Betrayal of Concorde |first=Donald L. |last=Pevsner |publisher=Concorde Spirit Tours |access-date=13 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202181316/http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/concorde.htm |archive-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}

Other reasons why the attempted revival of Concorde never happened relate to the fact that the narrow fuselage did not allow for "luxury" features of subsonic air travel such as moving space, reclining seats and overall comfort.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/05/supersonic-flight-concorde-crash|title=Supersonic flight: will it ever rise out of the ashes of Concorde?|last=Hall|first=Dave|date=5 June 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=7 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618190008/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/05/supersonic-flight-concorde-crash|url-status=live}} In the words of The Guardian's Dave Hall, "Concorde was an outdated notion of prestige that left sheer speed the only luxury of supersonic travel."

Air France made its final commercial Concorde landing in the United States in New York City from Paris on 30 May 2003.{{cite news |title=Concorde makes Final Flight from Paris to New York |publisher=Associated Press|date=30 May 2003 |first=Laurent |last=Lemel}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2952594.stm |title=French Concorde bids adieu |work=BBC News |date=31 May 2003 |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-date=24 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924045537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2952594.stm |url-status=live}} AF's final Concorde flight took place on 27 June 2003 when F-BVFC retired to Toulouse.{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104484558.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104070451/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104484558.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2012 |title=Jetting off |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=28 June 2003 |access-date=30 June 2011}}

An auction of Concorde parts and memorabilia for AF was held at Christie's in Paris on 15 November 2003; 1,300 people attended, and several lots exceeded their predicted values.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3246326.stm |title=3,500 due at UK Concorde auction |work=BBC News |date=30 November 2003 |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-date=3 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903082201/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3246326.stm |url-status=live}} French Concorde F-BVFC was retired to Toulouse and kept functional for a short time after the end of service, in case taxi runs were required in support of the French judicial enquiry into the 2000 crash. The aircraft is now fully retired and no longer functional.{{cite web |url=http://www.tourmag.com/Pourquoi-n-a-t-on-pas-sauve-le-Concorde_a7.html |title=Pourquoi n'a-t-on pas sauvé le Concorde? |publisher=TourMag.com |date=24 March 2010 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=2 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102123713/http://www.tourmag.com/Pourquoi-n-a-t-on-pas-sauve-le-Concorde_a7.html |url-status=live}}

AF Concorde F-BTSD was retired to the "Musée de l'Air" at Paris–Le Bourget Airport near Paris; unlike the other museum Concordes, a few of the systems are kept functional. For instance, the "droop nose" can still be lowered and raised. This led to rumours that they could be prepared for future flights for special occasions.{{cite news |title=This is not a flight of fancy: Volunteers say Concorde can realise an Olympic dream if BA will help |work=The Times|date=31 May 2006 |first=Ben |last=Webster}}

AF Concorde F-BVFB is at the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim at Sinsheim, Germany, after its last flight from Paris to Baden-Baden, followed by transport to Sinsheim via barge and road. The museum also has a Tupolev Tu-144 on display – this is the only place where both supersonic airliners can be seen together.{{cite web|url=http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/concorde-f-bvfb/ |title=Museum Sinsheim |publisher=Museum Sinsheim |access-date=26 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512045534/http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/concorde-f-bvfb |archive-date=12 May 2010}}

In 1989, AF signed a letter of agreement to donate a Concorde to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. upon the aircraft's retirement. On 12 June 2003, AF honoured that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVFA (serial 205) to the museum upon the completion of its last flight. This aircraft was the first AF Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, D.C., and New York and had flown 17,824 hours. It is on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport.{{cite web|title=Concorde, Fox Alpha, Air France|url=http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A20030139000|publisher=Smithsnian National Air and Space Museum|access-date=19 January 2016|archive-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205110326/http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A20030139000|url-status=dead}}

File:G-BOAB in new home (8472694454).jpg. This aircraft flew for 22,296 hours between its first flight in 1976 and its final flight in 2000, and has remained there ever since.]]

British Airways conducted a North American farewell tour in October 2003. G-BOAG visited Toronto Pearson International Airport on 1 October, after which it flew to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/417072421.html?dids=417072421:417072421&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+02%2C+2003&author=Marc+Atchison&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Concorde's+supersonic+swan+song%3B+Star+writer+aboard+for+jet's+farewell+trip+to+Toronto+Transatlantic+sound-breaker+a+vision+of+grace&pqatl=google |title=Concorde's supersonic swan song; Star writer aboard for jet's farewell trip to Toronto Transatlantic sound-breaker a vision of grace |work=Toronto Star |first=Marc |last=Atchison |date=2 October 2003 |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312130724/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/417072421.html?dids=417072421%3A417072421&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Oct+02%2C+2003&author=Marc+Atchison&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Concorde%27s+supersonic+swan+song%3B+Star+writer+aboard+for+jet%27s+farewell+trip+to+Toronto+Transatlantic+sound-breaker+a+vision+of+grace&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}} G-BOAD visited Boston's Logan International Airport on 8 October, and G-BOAG visited Dulles International Airport on 14 October.{{cite news|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3250817/Final-flight-British-Airways-Concorde.html |title=Final flight: British Airways Concorde lands locally for last time |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 October 2003 |first=Tom |last=Ramstack |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120185245/http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3250817/Final-flight-British-Airways-Concorde.html |archive-date=20 January 2012}}

In a week of farewell flights around the United Kingdom, Concorde visited Birmingham on 20 October, Belfast on 21 October, Manchester on 22 October, Cardiff on 23 October, and Edinburgh on 24 October. Each day the aircraft made a return flight out and back into Heathrow to the cities, often overflying them at low altitude.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3238674.stm |title=Last Concorde lands |work=BBC News |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=27 November 2003 |archive-date=2 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202164840/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3238674.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3205915.stm |title=Concorde enjoys Cardiff farewell |work=BBC News |date=23 October 2003 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=26 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040626224926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3205915.stm |url-status=live}} On 22 October, both Concorde flight BA9021C, a special from Manchester, and BA002 from New York landed simultaneously on both of Heathrow's runways. On 23 October 2003, the Queen consented to the illumination of Windsor Castle, an honour reserved for state events and visiting dignitaries, as Concorde's last west-bound commercial flight departed London.{{cite web |url=http://www.rockawave.com/news/2003-10-31/Front_Page/028.html |title=The Concorde Makes A Comeback |first=Brian |last=Magoolaghan |work=Wave of Long Island |date=31 October 2003 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615162157/http://www.rockawave.com/news/2003-10-31/Front_Page/028.html |archive-date=15 June 2011}}

BA retired its Concorde fleet on 24 October 2003.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11477-2003Oct24.html |title=Final Concorde flight lands at Heathrow |first=Jill |last=Lawless |agency=Associated Press |date=26 October 2003 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=13 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513093402/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11477-2003Oct24.html |url-status=live}} G-BOAG left New York to a fanfare similar to that given for AF's F-BTSD, while two more made round trips, G-BOAF over the Bay of Biscay, carrying VIP guests including former Concorde pilots, and G-BOAE to Edinburgh. The three aircraft then circled over London, having received special permission to fly at low altitude, before landing in sequence at Heathrow. The captain of the New York to London flight was Mike Bannister.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3211053.stm |title=End of an era for Concorde |work=BBC News |date=24 October 2003 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812145412/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3211053.stm |url-status=live}} The final US Concorde flight occurred on 5 November 2003 when G-BOAG flew from New York's JFK Airport to Seattle's Boeing Field to join the Museum of Flight's permanent collection, piloted by Mike Bannister and Les Broadie, who claimed a flight time of three hours, 55 minutes and 12 seconds, a record between the two cities that was made possible by Canada granting use of a supersonic corridor between Chibougamau, Quebec, and Peace River, Alberta.{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Thousands-welcome-Concorde-to-Seattle-1128999.php|title=Thousands welcome Concorde to Seattle|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=6 November 2003|access-date=26 February 2012|archive-date=21 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321035248/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Thousands-welcome-Concorde-to-Seattle-1128999.php|url-status=live}} The museum had been pursuing a Concorde for their collection since 1984.{{cite web|url=http://rbogash.com/Concorde.html|title=Concorde|author=Robert Bogash|work=rbogash.com|access-date=26 February 2012|archive-date=20 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020155826/http://www.rbogash.com/Concorde.html|url-status=live}} The final Concorde flight worldwide took place on 26 November 2003 with G-BOAF carrying 100 BA cabin crew members and pilots out over the Bay of Biscay and going supersonic over the Atlantic followed by a fly-past over Bristol Filton Airport before landing there in front of a crowd of more than 20,000 people.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3238674.stm |title=Last Concorde lands |work=BBC News |date=27 November 2003 |access-date=9 March 2012 |archive-date=21 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221082548/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3238674.stm |url-status=live}}

BA's Concorde fleet have been grounded, drained of hydraulic fluid and their airworthiness certificates withdrawn. Jock Lowe, ex-chief Concorde pilot and manager of the fleet, estimated in 2004 that it would cost £10–15 million to make G-BOAF airworthy again. BA maintain ownership and have stated that they will not fly again due to a lack of support from Airbus.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#17 |title=Will Concorde ever come out of retirement – e.g. for a Coronation flypast or airshows? |publisher=British Airways |access-date=14 January 2010 |archive-date=19 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219154117/http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#17 |url-status=live}} On 1 December 2003, Bonhams held an auction of British Airways Concorde artefacts, including a nose cone, at Kensington Olympia in London.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003-12-02-concorde_x.htm |title=Concorde nose cone sells for half-million at auction |work=USA Today |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=2 December 2003 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926105842/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003-12-02-concorde_x.htm |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-87889450.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104070500/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-87889450.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2012 |title=Concorde Memorabilia Auction |publisher=Getty Images |date=1 December 2003 |access-date=30 June 2011}} Proceeds of around £750,000 were raised, with the majority going to charity. G-BOAD is currently on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York.[http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-Intrepid-Experience/Exhibits/Concorde.aspx "Exhibits: Concorde".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821103808/http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-Intrepid-Experience/Exhibits/Concorde.aspx |date=21 August 2010}} Intrepidmuseum.org. Retrieved 6 March 2011. In 2007, BA announced that the advertising spot at Heathrow where a 40% scale model of Concorde was located would not be retained; the model is now on display at the Brooklands Museum, in Surrey.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6509667.stm |title=Heathrow Concorde model removed |work=BBC News |date=30 March 2007 |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316023144/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6509667.stm |url-status=live}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Concorde by airline}}

• {{Cite book |author-link=Christopher Orlebar |last=Orlebar |first=Christopher |title=The Concorde Story |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2004 |isbn=978-1-85532-667-5}}

{{British Aircraft Corporation aircraft}}

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{{Supersonic transport}}

Category:Concorde