why was the concord airplane retired?

Answer 1

They were getting old and due for a major and very expensive upgrade if they were continue to operate. Aerospace in France did not want to keep manufacturing the spare parts as there was no profit in it. The British and French governments spent 12 Billion dollars to put 14 planes into service. (the contract signed between the two governments had a clause in it that said if either party wanted to cancel the plane before production started, that party was liable for the cost of the entire program up to that time)They were probably near worth their weight in gold. They were beautiful though and unlike any other airliner flying. It was never economical and burned as much fuel to cross the Atlantic as a 747 which carried 4 times and many people. Unfortunately as a rule only the rich could ever afford to fly on the Concorde although it was the ever day tax payers of England and France that paid for the planes. Doesn't seem right does it?

Answer 2

Basically they went from being the safest planes in the world to the most dangerous with one accident. That stopped the super rich from flying on them.

It was retired because BA wouldn't allow Virgin Atlantic to take over the aircraft, they'd rather scrap them than see Richard Branson fly them.

Contrary to what others are saying BA reported an operating profit on the aircraft.

As to the development cost, I worked with old guys at the Royal Aircraft Establishment who still had the orignial military drawings for Concorde. It was developed for the French and British military, RAE was a branch of the Ministry of Defense Procurement Executive until they were turned into DRA/DERA in the 80s and 90s, the people I worked with in the early 80s had been there since the 30s and 40s. As a long range bomber the first fighter that actually stood a chace of catching Concorde is the F-22.

An alternate view. Not one I expect to be particularly popular, the MoD is unlikely to release the truth about Concorde for another 10-15 years.

Answer 3

Simply put, it didn't make money.

It cost too much for production, maintenance, and operations, and there were not enough people willing to pay the exorbitant prices to cover the costs. Yes, it looked cool and flew faster than any other passenger plane, but it had a very limited capacity, (only about 100 versus a 747 that can carry 400 or the new A380 that could carry up to 800). There were also safety concerns, but the statistics on the plane were somewhat distorted by the very shallow pool of data...

There are many people who argued it was still worthwhile just because it was record-breaking and the occasional full load of $12,000 seats would cover costs, but those people couldn't convince the only two airlines who bought the plane. I've linked one pro-Concorde website for further research.

Answer 4

Why Was The Concorde Retired

Answer 5

The cost to operate it was high and climbing.
It had a spectacular crash recently that really hurt demand, but the program was near the end anyway.
Neighborhoods did not allow it to go supersonic within earshot, which is a long way with a sonic boom, which limited airports it could use.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde

(Hard to believe someone thinks an F-14 couldn't catch this thing. Heck, an F-106 Delta Dart from 1959 could've caught it! While BA made money from it, they never would have if they had spent the billions to develop it that the UK & France spent.)

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why was the concord airplane retired?

Answer 7

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Answer 8

The last one had to be loaded with a front end loader into trash trucks and hauled away.
Too expensive to fly, too fragile to maintain, not enough people interested in the extravagant cost of tickets.

Answer 9

Because the French maintain aircraft like they win wars.

Answer 10

They were too old and too expensive to operate at a profit.