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Concorde
The first supersonic airliner, the graceful Concorde flew thousands of passengers at twice the speed of sound for over 25 years. Air France and British Airways jointly inaugurated Concorde service in 1976. The aircraft could carry up to 100 passengers and catered to a first-class clientele. It could cross the Atlantic in less than four hours -- twice as fast as a conventional airliners. However, its high operating costs resulted in very high fares. Few could afford to fly it. These problems and a shrinking market forced service to be reduced until all Concordes were retired in 2003.
In 1989, Air France agreed to donate a Concorde to the Smithsonian after the aircraft's retirement. On June 12, 2003, it honored that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVFA upon completion of its last flight. This aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, and New York City. |