Concorde jets will by grounded by October's end

LONDON — Concorde, the chic needle-nosed jet that has flown stars and tycoons across the Atlantic at supersonic speeds and stratospheric cost for a quarter century, will be retired this year, its British and French operators said Thursday.

British Airways and Air France, the only two airlines to operate Concordes, said they will take the glamorous but hugely expensive jets out of service by the end of October because of falling passenger demand and rising maintenance costs.

Air France, which has five Concordes, said its last scheduled flight would be May 31 and that the program would shut down at the end of October.

"Never has such a beautiful object been designed and built by man," said Air France President Jean-Cyril Spinetta at a news conference. "This aircraft is not going to stop because it continues to live on in the human imagination."

The retirement of the service "will be permanent as of October this year," British Airways spokeswoman Sara John said. The carrier, which has seven of the white, delta-wing jets, didn't give a date for its last scheduled flight but said it would be toward the end of October.

"It's a sad day in many ways," British Airways' chief executive, Rod Eddington, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "Concorde changed the nature of commercial aviation. It revolutionized the way people traveled around the world."

But Eddington said passengers were no longer willing to pay the $9,300 regular fare for a round trip across the Atlantic in supersonic time.

"If you're laying people off and telling people in your business to tighten your belt, senior executives then find it inconsistent to go to the airport and get on Concorde rather than subsonic aircraft," he said.

He added that the air carrier would not sell its Concordes to a commercial operator.

"Concorde had terrific beginnings. We're determined that she finishes on a high note, and Concorde will then end up in museums," he said in a conference call.

Air France blamed the retirement on falling demand, linked to the global downturn in the aviation industry, and rising maintenance costs for the aging fleet.

"This decision is motivated by deteriorating economic results . . . observed over the past months and which accelerated since the beginning of the year," Air France said in a statement.