Last flight of the Concorde

The Concorde was a supersonic airliner developed as a joint project between Great Britian and France. Because of the airplane’s close ties to the two countries, it was added to the fleets of British Airways and Air France, taking its first commercial flight in 1976.

While the Concorde consumed about four times as much fuel as a traditional long-range jumbo jet, running up ticket prices to a staggering $10,000 by the turn of the twenty-first century, the airplane remained popular until a tragic accident on July 25, 2000. On takeoff, the airplane’s tire burst after running over a strip of metal on the runway at Charles de Gaulle Airport (LFPG) in Paris. A piece of the tire then struck the underside of its left wing, puncturing the fuel tank. The puncture led to a fire and engine failure, causing the Concorde to crash into a nearby hotel approximately 90 seconds after leaving the ground. All 109 people on board, as well as four others on the ground, were killed.

The crash shook public confidence and sparked widespread concern about the safety of commercial supersonic travel. Although the Concorde briefly returned to service in 2001, it was retired in November 2003, attributed in part to the crash’s lasting impact and a decline in interest in commercial air travel following 9/11. Today, however, the vision of supersonic passenger flight is resurfacing, with Raytheon subsidiary Collins Aerospace partnering with Boom Supersonic, a private company, to help bring the dream back to life.

Boom, alongside Collins Aerospace, has developed a supersonic airliner it has named Overture. The Overture is designed to fly at Mach 1.7, enabling 60 to 80 passengers to fly from New York to London in three hours and 40 minutes. Airlines including United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines have placed preorders for the Overture, and commercial flights are projected to commence in 2029.

If successful, Overture could mark the beginning of a new era in air travel—one that combines the speed once promised by the Concorde with modern advances in efficiency, safety, and sustainability. While challenges remain, from regulatory hurdles to environmental considerations, the renewed push for supersonic commercial flight signals that the dream of crossing oceans at twice the speed of sound is far from over. The Concorde may be gone, but its legacy is inspiring a new generation of innovation in the skies.

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