50 years since Concorde's first scheduled flight

"It is 50 years since Concorde began scheduled passenger flights, with British Airways operating a London-Bahrain service and Air France flying from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Technically, the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 was the first supersonic passenger airliner, entering service on December 26, 1975. However, Concorde began scheduled passenger service earlier, on January 21, 1976, while the Tu-144's passenger flights didn't start until 1977."

"Concorde could fly at more than twice the speed of sound, yet the lucrative transatlantic routes to the US were not viable, casting more doubt on the aircraft's already ropy economics. Concerns about noise meant it was banned from landing in the US until later in 1976, with operations permitted in New York from 1977. The first scheduled flight took off amid technical, political, and financial obstacles."

"By 1976, only British Airways and Air France remained customers for the aircraft, and the production line was winding down. The final Concorde that was manufactured first flew in 1979. In May 2003, Air France flew its last commercial flight, and British Airways retired its Concorde fleet on October 24, 2003. Multiple factors contributed to the retirement of the fleet: one of the aircraft crashed during take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on July 25, 2000 and operators cited low passenger numbers after the crash; a broader slump in air travel following the September 11 terror attacks in 2001; and Airbus's decision to halt the supply of replacement parts."

Concorde began scheduled passenger flights on January 21, 1976, with British Airways and Air France operating early services. The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 entered service technically earlier, but its passenger operations started later. Concorde achieved speeds of more than twice the speed of sound, yet transatlantic routes proved economically marginal and noise concerns delayed US operations. By 1976 only British Airways and Air France remained customers and production wound down, with the last new Concorde flying in 1979. Retirement in 2003 resulted from a 2000 crash, reduced demand after 9/11, and halted parts supplies. Several Concordes are now museum exhibits.

Read at Theregister