End of an era - Concorde is retired

British Airways and Air France chiefs today signalled the end of the supersonic era in aviation by announcing that they were retiring their Concorde planes this autumn.

BA blamed falling passenger levels and rising maintenance costs for the decision to scrap flights.

Both BA and Air France said their Concorde operations would stop at the end of October 2003.

Capable of speeds of up to 1,350mph, Concorde has been in passenger service since 1976 and in recent years both BA and Air France have concentrated their services on the transatlantic route to New York.

Heavily dependent on American travellers, this route has been hit of late by the events of September 11, the downturn in the American economy and the Iraqi war.

BA said today that detailed discussions, over an extended period, with Airbus, the aircraft's manufacturer, confirmed the need for an enhanced maintenance programme in the coming years.

The airline went on: "BA has decided that such an investment cannot be justified in the face of falling revenue caused by a global downturn in demand for all forms of premium travel in the airline industry."

It added that the downturn had had a negative impact on Concorde bookings and was set to continue for the foreseeable future.

BA's chief executive Rod Eddington said: "Concorde has served us well and we are extremely proud to have flown this marvellous and unique aircraft for the past 27 years.

"This is the end of a fantastic era in world aviation, but bringing forward Concorde's retirement is a prudent business decision at a time when we are having to make difficult decisions right across the airline."

Noel Forgeard, president and chief executive officer of Airbus, said: "Airbus' predecessors Aerospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation created Concorde some 40 years ago and we are proud of this remarkable achievement.

"But its maintenance regime is increasing fast with age. Thus, as an aircraft manufacturer, we understand completely and respe the decision of British Airways, especially in the present economic climate.

"It goes without saying that until the completion of the very last flight, we will continue to support the airline so that the highest standards of maintenance and safety are entirely fulfilled."

Air France today said its last transatlantic flight by Concorde would be on May

31.

The airline added: "This decision is motivated by deteriorating economic results ... observed over the past months and which accelerated since the beginning of the year."

Mr Eddington added that today's announcement was not a direct result of war in Iraq.

He said: "While the threat of war and resulting military conflict have had a further impact on premium travel demand, the decision to retire Concorde has been based on a long–term revenue–and–cost trend rather than recent events.

"I would like to place publicly on record my sincere thanks and appreciation to all our staff, past and present, who have made the Concorde story one of the most compelling in the history of commercial flight.

"Our pride in the aircraft will never wane and I am determined that we make its final six months in the sky a time for celebration."

Retiring Concorde will result in £84 million write–off costs for the year ended March 2003.

BA said it was already planning to make its Concordes available for the public to view in museums.

Also, the airline said it would announce shortly a programme of special Concorde events and promotions for air travellers.

For the next few months, BA will continue to operate its Concorde services between London Heathrow and New York's JF Kennedy airport as well as seasonal services to Barbados.

British Airways has seven Concordes and Air France five.

Concorde's safety record was exemplary until July 2000 when an Air France Concorde en route from Paris to New York crashed shortly after take–off, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground.

After the tragedy, BA and Air France Concorde fleets were taken out of service while all the planes were modified to prevent any repeat of the accident.

The shredding of a tyre, which was caused by a metal object falling off another aircraft on the runway in Paris, led to the accident, with tyre fragments resulting in an engine fire.

Modifications included stronger tyres, bullet–proof fuel tank liners and wiring improvements. Passenger services finally resumed in November 2001.

Before the crash, BA had operated two return London–New York Concorde flights a day but the resumption of services saw only one return flight operating.

Lack of passengers meant that BA was never able to reintroduce the twice–daily timetable.

BA spent several million pounds on the modification work and took the opportunity also to add interior improvements. It had been hoped to continue supersonic flights certainly for a few more years.

The 100–passenger plane was capable of a top speed of about 1,350mph and would typically cruise at heights of up to 60,000 feet – about 20,000 feet higher than a conventional passenger aircraft.

At those heights passengers would be able to see the beginning of the curvature of the earth, and would also take about three hours to three and a half hours to do a London–New York journey that would take seven hours forty five minutes for a subsonic plane.

Since the first BA supersonic flight from London to Bahrain in January 1976, more than 2.5 million passengers have flown on BA's Concordes.

The aircraft's best transatlantic time was two hours 54 minutes from New York to London. The aircraft was powered by four Anglo–French Olympus 593 engines and take–off speed was around 250mph – much faster than subsonic aircraft.

Concorde eats up more than 25,000 litres of fuel an hour.

One of the driving forces behind the introduction of the Anglo–French plane in the 1960s was veteran Labour politician Tony Benn who was solidly behind the project when he was Technology Minister.

Later, Mr Eddington said: "We want to retire Concorde gracefully. We want it go out on a high.

"Concorde changed the way peopled travelled. With its going, we must lose some of the romance from aviation. Concorde looked fantastic. You cannot lose such an aircraft without shedding a tear."

He added that BA would continue its London to New York Concorde services through to October this year and that the airline might organise flights "out of different parts of the UK" so as many people as possible could see the plane before its retirement.

Mr Eddington said BA's seven Concordes would definitely not be sold to another company but were likely to end up in a museum.

"The aircraft is part of aviation history and I am sure it will end up on display for future generations to see," he said.

Mr Eddington added that demand for Concorde had diminished because a number of big companies had cut right back, or even completely scrapped, Concorde travel.

He went on: "These big corporations have tightened their belts and this hit us because 70% of Concorde travellers are business executives."

Mr Eddington said he was confident BA would be able to keep its Concorde travellers once the service ceased. He went on: "Many people have switched already from Concorde to our first class and business class services and we believe we have the best subsonic product across the Atlantic."

* From today, and for travel until the end of August, BA is offering a London to New York one–way ticket on Concorde and a subsonic return in economy class for £1,999.

One–way on Concorde and a subsonic return in business class (Club World) will be £2,999, while one–way on Concorde and a subsonic return in first class will be £3,499. BA is also offering a Concorde flight and a Concorde return for £3,999.

Available until April 17, these offers are subject to travellers staying on a Saturday night, while tickets cannot be changed or refunded. One thousand seats are available.