Anglo-French collaboration that became the favourite of the transatlantic rich and famous

Supersonic era

Concorde has been the pride of Britain and France since the first aircraft left the ground in 1969.

Concorde has been the pride of Britain and France since the first aircraft left the ground in 1969.

At £6,000 return from London to New York, however, the undoubted glamour of the aircraft is beyond the reach of most. Few who fly on Concorde pay for the privilege themselves. It is usually senior businessmen, the rich and the famous who enter the somewhat cramped tube to be hurtled at the speed of a bullet on the edge of space.

For some, the seats are a touch narrow. The late, disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell used to buy two tickets to accommodate his ample frame.

By the mid-Eighties the Concorde flight had become the perfect accessory for the celebrity. Regulars included Dynasty star Joan Collins, Sir Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Sir Sean Connery and Diana, Princess of Wales. More recently, hotel and restaurant connoisseur Egon Ronay extolled the virtues of Concorde, describing the British Airways service as "oozing luxury and refinement". Passengers are isolated from hoi polloi in dedicated check-in areas and in special lounges, the new versions of which are to be designed by Sir Terence Conran.

The passengers on yesterday's flight were unusual for being tourists.

Despite the fares, some 2.5 million passengers have flown on British Airways Concorde services since it began commercial operations in 1976.

Much to the chagrin of some British observers, the project was the idea of the UK government. The first Concorde took off from the Aerospatiale airfield in Toulouse, France, on 2 March 1969. The British version, Concorde 002, first lifted off five weeks later. By November 1970 both prototypes had flown at Mach 2, twice the speed of sound.

The aircraft was subjected to 5,000 hours of testing by the time it was certified for passenger flight. On 21 January 1976 the first commercial Concorde services were flown simultaneously by British Airways to Bahrain and by Air France to Rio de Janeiro.

Altogether, the fleet has logged more than 900,000 flying hours and it remains the only supersonic civil aircraft in service: Air France and British Airways each operate a fleet of seven jets.

The first Concorde, the '001' prototype, was a joint venture between Britain and France costing an estimated £950m. Britain and France started working separately towards a supersonic aircraft in 1956. They were working along such similar lines that in 1962 they decided to develop it jointly, a partnership that led to 20 aircraft being built.

The second prototype, the British-built Concorde 002, made a successful maiden voyage from Filton aerodrome, Bristol, on 9 April 1969. Two months previously, in a bid to make history, the Soviet Union rushed into production an aircraft that seemed to be a triumph of industrial espionage. However the TU-144 crashed at the 1973 Paris air show. The Americans also tried to produce such an airliner, but technological difficulties meant the project was cancelled. The prospects for a "daughter of Concorde" are not good. Some analysts say that a replacement would cost US$10bn.

Concorde is powered by four Olympus 593 engines jointly developed by Rolls-Royce and the French company Snecma. Each is capable of producing 38,000lb thrust.

The supersonic aeroplanes can carry 100 passengers and fly at 1,336mph and at an altitude of 55,000 feet. Cruising at 1,350mph - twice the speed of sound - Concorde's typical New York crossing takes little more than three and a half hours.

The jet had an enviable safety record but yesterday's crash came just 24 hours after the disclosure that a British Airways Concorde had been taken out of service after a crack developed in its wings. BA's other six supersonic jets also had cracks in the rear of their wings, but were deemed "no risk to safety" by the Civil Aviation Authority and BA.