Concorde

Concorde
British Airways Concorde in 1986
Role	Supersonic transport
National origin	United Kingdom and France
Manufacturer	BAC (later BAe and BAE Systems) Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale and EADS)
First flight	2 March 1969
Introduction	21 January 1976
Retired	24 October 2003
Status	Retired
Primary users	British Airways Air France See Operators below for others
Produced	1965–1979
Number built	20 (inc. 6 non-commercial aircraft)
Program cost	£1.3 billion
Unit cost	£23 million in 1977

Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde (/ˈkɒnkɔːrd/) is a British-French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet airliner that was operated until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which was operated for a much shorter period.

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde. The aircraft was primarily used by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concorde's speed and luxury service. Among other destinations, Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London's Heathrow Airport and Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Washington Dulles International Airport and Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados; it flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners.