Why did airlines cancel Concorde orders?

Summary. Pan Am and TWA both initially placed orders for the Concorde, believing supersonic travel was the future of flight. Concerns about profitability and high costs led to both airlines canceling their orders and investing in the more profitable Boeing 747.



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The official line was that both the French and the UK governments agreed to end Concorde's flights, mainly because the costs of maintenance were going to be too great. The Treaty would not appear to prevent one side from going it alone but they would then have to shoulder all the costs.

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BA never suffered a serious accident with its seven strong fleet. Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day.

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Boom Supersonic, the US plane manufacturer, plans to have the answer with its new Overture jet, which is set to transport customers at twice the speed of today's fastest commercial aircraft, and is regarded as the new Concorde.

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Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.

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No manufacturer has yet been able to recreate the days of the Concorde, but some are trying. Denver-based Boom Supersonic is leading the pack with its faster-than-sound Overture jet, already securing over 100 orders from United Airlines, Japan Airlines, and American Airlines.

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Concorde used the most powerful pure jet engines flying commercially. The Aircraft's four engines took advantage of what is known as 'reheat' technology, adding fuel to the final stage of the engine, which produced the extra power required for take-off and the transition to supersonic flight.

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The aircraft quickly proved itself unquestionably as it reached speeds of up to 1,354 mph. To put that into context, that is around 800 mph faster than a Boeing 747 and over 350 mph faster than the earth spins on its axis!

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On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on the ground killed. This was the only fatal incident involving Concorde; commercial service was suspended until November 2001.

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Concorde is sadly no longer flying, but it is still possible to visit some of the remaining 18 airframes, there are others not open to the public but you can still see them.

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In real life, Diana took several trips aboard the Concorde, both with Prince Charles and solo.

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The Concorde's production and operation was an enormous financial undertaking for both the United Kingdom and France, contributing to sky-high ticket pricing for most consumers.

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By the early 1970s however, opposition led to bans on commercial supersonic flight in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada and the United States.

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But that hasn't stopped many aviation geeks from calling the new Boom supersonic aircraft Concorde 2.0, although the plane will officially be known under the name 'Overture'. Boom Supersonic's Overture plane is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029.

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The North American X-15 may be the fastest plane in the world, with speeds at 4,520 mph and Mach 5.93. It's an experimental aircraft used and powered by NASA and USAF.

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