This led to rumours that they could be prepared for future flights for special occasions. Horoscope dates, traits and zodiac change explained How do I find my zodiac sign, what does it mean and how does the zodiac work? News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services.The British-French turbojet was a supersonic aircraft that was pulled out of active service.CONCORDE was once the last word in luxury flight and still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a commercial aircraft.The fleet was retired in 2003 - but the famous aircraft can now be seen at a number of museums in Britain and around the world.On April 10, 2003 Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde aircraft.Air France made its final flight on June 27 while British Airways retired its fleet on October 24 after a farewell tour.Concorde had been in service for 27 years, having made its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976.Air France and British Airways blamed low passenger numbers and rising maintenance costs.Passenger numbers fell after an Air France Concorde crashed minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.The plane ran over a piece of metal on the runway, bursting a tyre which caused the fuel tank to ignite as it was taking off.The 9/11 attacks in 2001 also had a severe impact on the number of people choosing to fly.The operators also blamed rising maintenance costs. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. It was the first aircraft to have computer-controlled engine air intakes, a very significant leap in aviation at the time. CONCORDE was once the last word in luxury flight and still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a commercial aircraft. The Crash of 2000. Passenger numbers fell after an Air France Concorde crashed minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. This allowed the plane to slow the air flowing into its engines down to 1,000 mph in as little space as 4.5 meters. All of the previous answers have a bearing on why the Concorde was retired. The aircraft was said to be one of the safest in the industry but that changed on July 25 th,2000. 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Although advanced when it was launched, 30 years on the planes were outdated and expensive to run.By the time Concorde was retired it was the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.The aircraft could go a maximum speed which was over twice as fast as the speed of sound.Twenty Concorde planes were built in France and the UK - six prototype and development aircraft and 14 service planes which were operated by Air France and British Airways.Concorde number 216 was moved to its new home by engineers from British Airways and Airbus, who Filton was where half the Concordes were constructed, the others being built at Toulouse.The six other retired BA service planes are on display at Heathrow airport, Manchester airport, Barbados airport, the National Museum of Flight near Edinburgh, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and New York's Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.Air France also had seven service jets but one crashed and another was broken up for spares.The five still intact are on show at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at Washington DC's Dulles airport, the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, the Airbus factory in Toulouse, the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget, and Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris.The two original prototype aircraft, numbers 001 and 002, are on display at the French Museum of Air and Space at Le Bourget and the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton.Two pre-production aircraft, numbers 101 and 102, are now at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and Orly Airport in Paris.Two development aircraft built for testing, numbers 201 and 202, can be seen at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, and the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.In 2003 Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin Atlantic was interested in buying the fleet.Branson later wrote that Virgin Atlantic had wanted to run the fleet for many years to come, but no agreement was reached.Earlier this year it was announced that Club Concorde has raised the funds to purchase and restore a Concorde aircraft with the aim of returning it to service by 2019, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the aircraft's inaugural test flight.In 2016 Sir Richard Branson announced plans to launch The entrepreneur is working with American startup Boom to develop the XB-1 supersonic aircraft, set to be the “fastest civil aircraft ever made”.In Setember 2017 US space agency Nasa and aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin revealed they have It is thought test flights could begin as early as 2021.