Downturn blamed for Concorde's demise

Concorde – the world's fastest passenger aircraft – is set to be retired in October, British Airways has announced today.

BA said that it would phase out its fleet of seven aircraft for "commercial reasons" as passenger revenue was falling steadily against a backdrop of rising maintenance costs for the aircraft. Retiring Concorde will result in £84 million write-off costs for the year ended March 2003.

According to a BA spokesperson the need for an enhanced maintenance programme in the coming years, in tandem with falling revenues has prompted today's announcement.

The carrier said that such an investment could not 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. The downturn has had a negative impact on Concorde bookings and is set to continue for the foreseeable future, according to the airline.

The future of Concorde has been in doubt for some months now. In July 2000, 113 people were killed when an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off. Around £17 million was ploughed into making the fleet more safe but since then there have been a number of safety problems – including engine failure during a transatlantic flight in November last year; and a section of the plane's tail rudder breaking loose during a recent flight.

However, Rod Eddington, BA’s chief executive, said that throughout the aircraft's 27-year life-span, the carrier was "extremely proud to have flown this marvellous and unique aircraft".

He added: "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."

To honour the past 30 years of supersonic travel, the airline will announce a programme of special events and promotions for air travellers.

For the next few months, British Airways will continue to operate its Concorde services between London Heathrow and New York JFK and seasonal services to Barbados.

The airline is already planning to make its Concordes available for the public to view in museums.

Concorde is the world’s only supersonic passenger aircraft, cruising around 1,350 miles per hour, and at an altitude of up to 60,000 feet – more than 11 miles above sea level. Since the aircraft entered commercial service in 1976, more than 2.5 million passengers have flown supersonically on BA’s Concordes.

(GMcG)