BRITISH Airways has announced that after 27 years, its fleet
of Concorde will no longer fly.
The seven-strong fleet of Concorde will be retired at the
end of October.
BA said its decision had been made for commercial reasons
with passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of rising
maintenance costs.
More than 2.5 million people have travelled with Concorde
since it began its commercial service in 1976.
BA chief executive Rod Eddington said: “This is the end of a
fantastic era in world aviation but bringing forward Concorde’s retirement is a
prudent business decision at a time when we are having to make difficult
decisions right across the airline.”
The decision will result in £84 million write-off costs for
the year ended March 2003.
To mark its retirement BA is offering a range of special
fares. Prices start from £1,999 for one-way Concorde and one-way World
Traveller.