Why was the Concorde not profitable?

One of the issues that negatively affected the success of Concorde was the cost of fuel. On a regular flight, Concorde consumes 6,771 gallons of fuel. The cost of fuel quickly exceeded the profit made from the flight and rendered Concorde unprofitable to operate.



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The court ruled that the crash resulted from a piece of metal from a Continental jet that was left on the runway; the object punctured a tyre on the Concorde and then ruptured a fuel tank.

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The challenges of manufacturing and certifying new parts, maintaining a licensed flight crew capable of flying it, and ongoing maintenance and preservation mean we are no closer to seeing Concorde flying again since its last flight in 2003.

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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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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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The main reason is that the Concorde had a different design, engine, and fuel system than most fighters. These features allowed it to overcome the challenges and limitations of supersonic flight, such as drag, heat, noise, and fuel consumption.

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Despite the crew being trained and certified, no plan existed for the simultaneous failure of two engines on the runway, as it was considered highly unlikely. Aborting the takeoff would have led to a high-speed runway excursion and collapse of the landing gear, which also would have caused the aircraft to crash.

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Surprisingly, Concorde pilots were paid the same salary as commercial line pilots at BA and Air France. Concorde pilots at BA have the same salary as any mainline pilots flying any other aircraft. There is a salary scale depending on length of service. Top salary is 120,700 sterling basic for captains.

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Both Continental Airlines and John Taylor, one of its mechanics, were found criminally responsible for their part in the disaster in December 2010, but their convictions were overturned in a French court in 2012, on the grounds that the mistakes that they made did not amount to criminal responsibility.

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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! It was even said to be faster than a rifle bullet!

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