Why is the Concorde not allowed to be jused for commercial services?

Question

I asked this question on here before, but never got a very clear answer. Also, is there some people who privately own Concordes and still use them?

if it's old, can't they upgrade it? or are they planning on making a new supersonic commercial passenger jet?

Answer 1

Concorde does not fly today solely because of the fact that it was no longer economically viable. It was a hugely expensive airframe to operate and maintain, and in today's environment where profit margin is everything - no airline company was willing to continue operating it.

Competition from low budget airlines, high passenger fares and the novelty of supersonic travel wearing off meant that passenger numbers were also in decline.

Some may point to the recent accident which attracted a lot of negative press and dented public confidence in Concorde's safety record. However this was unfair, in over 30 years of service it was the only major incident that had occured throughout the whole fleet - the cause of which could have happened to any other aircraft at any time.

Yes it was a noisy aeroplane, but supersonic travel is only allowed in designated supersonic "corridors" that are away from land therefore the resulting shockwaves would never cause damage over land.

Its a travesty that such an aeroplane no longer flies - yes it was a 60's design but the concept was way ahead of it's time and even now there has not been anything designed and built that represents a "step up" in travel that Concorde was. Its a shame that profit and cost dictate our ability to produce such wonderful machines such as this.

Answer 2

First of all, it was a 60s design and was extremely expensive to operate and maintain... Airbus (who supplied the spare parts) also announced that they would stop supplying the spare parts needed. The Concorde also was not efficient and could only carry 100 passengers max on the London - New York run. Even though British Airways and Air France charged a premium, the routes were not profitable - not many people could afford it. Concorde became a status symbol, a way of travel only the richest could afford.

The aircraft was fuel hungry and very inefficient, especially when only carrying 100 passengers or less. And finally, the aircraft had a relatively large number of accidents, (especially when only two airlines operated it) including loss of rudder inflight... The amount of noise it produced restricted its flight path and you could hear the sonic boom clearly even if the aircraft was at 60,000ft. The amount of noise it produced was said to be able to shatter glass.

True, the Concorde was a symbol of a breakthrough in aviation and the last word in luxury, but it's costs retired it.
Its a shame the Concorde isn't flying though, it's a beauty...

And even if they could upgrade the Concorde it would take large amounts of money.

As for a future SST... Maybe...

Answer 3

The Concorde was used successfully in commercial service until 2003, when the last commercial flight was made. Speculation was that the planes were withdrawn from service because of the fleet's first fatal crash in 2000 shortly after takeoff, which was caused by cracks in the plane's aging fuselage. But in reality, the Concorde never was able to turn a profit because of its high operating cost, and because of even higher oil prices now, it is highly unlikely to make a comeback. Even Boeing, which had originally slated its next plane to become the Sonic Cruiser, instead used the same technology to make a more fuel-efficient plane, which will be called the 787 Dreamliner.

As for a future SST, France and Japan are working on a joint project for a next-generation supersonic commercial plane. It is expected to enter service by 2015.

Answer 4

Why IS Concorde being retired?

Concorde made an tidy operating profit for the airlines, but with the aircraft approaching 30 years of age a large investment programme would be required to update many of the systems on board the aircraft. With the premium first class market as it is post September 11th 2001, there is no hope of the airlines being able to fund this investment and keep the aircraft in profit.

Therefore, the airlines decided to write off the current levels of investment in the aircraft, of around £100M, rather than risk having to write off sums that could top £200M in the coming years, if the premium travel market did not improve.

British Airways have stated that they intended to "Celebrate Concorde" in its final months, and attempt to give people through the UK a chance to fly on-board the aircraft, before they were retired to museums.

It is a sad time, but the inevitable really only came forward a few years. We should celebrate what Concorde was and still is - the only profit making Supersonic Passenger Jet to ever to go into regular revenue service. The Americans or Russians could not even do it - that's how far ahead of its time it was ... and still is!


only Richard Branson (Virgin) wanted to continue flying them and offered to buy them from BA who refused because they knew he could do it and didnt want to see the best loved aircraft in history with a competitors badges on the tail fin.

BA killed off the Concord although legaly this aircraft was theirs.
Morally the public should have been allowed to continue to see this piece of history in the air.

Answer 5

It's not that it's not allowed, it just wasn't making any money. The Concorde was extremely expensive to operate. Flying supersonic uses a tremendous amount of fuel. Even at over $12,000 per seat from New York to London they lost money nearly every flight.

I doubt that there are any privately owned Concordes. Only Bill Gates or Warren Buffett could afford to run one and they have a lot better things to do with their money.

Answer 6

At the beginning, 70's oil price and production overrun, almost killed the program . There were only two airlines (British air, Air France) bought them.

Because "Sonic Boom" Many cities and countries banned the Concorde overflights or landings. Noise pollution was a great issue for these jets.

At the end, They were allowed in limited places, but two airlines just stopped them because there were very little demand for the service. (Price of the ticket was very expensive).

There are no privately own Concorde. They sold all jets as a memorabilia. Only one Air France's Concorde was saved for future .
PS: There were company wanted to buy the Concordes and used them as a commercial air service, but Airbus(Manufacture) refused to service them. and they killed the deal.

Answer 7

First there is the shock wave that it caused. People didn't like the idea of being woken up at 3:00 in the morning by a commercial rocket. Also they are way to old. Not even subsonic jets last more than 30 years of commercial service. (Northwest Airline's DC-9s are the only exception) It would cost way to much to retrofit them just to cary 100 people on one route. Plus, airlines complain about fuel burn on regular jets. Imagine how much money they would loose now. To my knowledge all of the Concordes are in museums. Not even Trump could afford one and even if he could he couldn't use it much without getting clearance which would never happen.

Answer 8

Economical, environmental reasons.

Economics: When Concord flew passengers the ticket price was, no joke, $12,000 a person. The amount of fuel burned at Mach 2 was immense. The hull needed to be made of special materials to withstand the high heat levels attained at that speed.

Environmental: It is illegal to create a sonic boom over land in many countries. This greatly reduces the available flight paths for supersonic planes.

As for private owners, I don't believe so. Only a dozen were produced. One crashed.

Fact: Concorde's cruising altitude is 60,000 feet. If a person flies above 65,000 feet, they are considered an Astronaut.

Answer 9

The few Concordes that were operational have all been retired after several design flaws became too big of an issue to ignore. It was extremely expensive to operate, which combined with the technical issues makes it an undesirable plane for a private owner to fly. I believe all of them have been placed on static (non-flying) display at different museums, and none of them will ever fly again for any purpose.

As for future SSTs, who knows? Most smart money is in Boeing's 747, 777, and 787 series planes right now, and the airline industry is holding its collective breath waiting to see what happens with the Airbus 380 problems before making any serious moves in that direction.

Answer 10

old,
The Concords get older faster than sub sonic jet because of the shock wave they make and air friction.
Also the concord holds few passengers so the ticket price is high,
Fuel cost is high making the Concord even less attractive.
For the cost of a concord ticket you and a few Buddy's can charter a Lear jet.
No new Concords have been made in a long time so all of them have been mothballed.

I don't know of any one that has one