Concorde Timeline

In 1965, NASA test aircraft successfully tested Concorde's wing design and found that it reduced landing speeds noticeably over the standard delta wing.

Construction of six prototypes began in February 1965, including two full prototypes: 001, built by Aérospatiale at Toulouse, and 002, built by BAC at Filton, Bristol.

Concorde 001 made its first test flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, piloted by André Turcat, marking the debut of the world's first Anglo-French supersonic airliner prototype.

The first UK-built Concorde flew from Filton to RAF Fairford on 9 April 1969, piloted by Brian Trubshaw.

Both Concorde prototypes were presented to the public on 7–8 June 1969 at the Paris Air Show, giving the world its first close look at the supersonic airliner.

On 1 October 1969, Concorde 001 first went supersonic, demonstrating the aircraft's ability to fly faster than the speed of sound during its test programme.

As the flight programme progressed, Concorde 001 embarked on a sales and demonstration tour on 4 September 1971, which also marked the aircraft's first transatlantic crossing.

Concorde 002 followed the demonstration tour with one of the Middle and Far East beginning on 2 June 1972, promoting sales of the aircraft abroad.

During a test flight on 26 March 1974, a Concorde reached its maximum speed of 2,370 km/h (Mach 2.23) at an altitude of 19,415 metres (63,700 feet).

The US government cut federal funding for the Boeing 2707, its supersonic transport programme, in 1971 after spending more than $1 billion; Boeing never completed its two 2707 prototypes, leaving Concorde without an American competitor.

Image source: Boeing 2707

The Tupolev Tu-144, Concorde's only competitor, began carrying passengers in November 1977. After a crash during a pre-delivery test flight in May 1978, it was withdrawn from passenger service after only 55 flights averaging 58 passengers each.

Image source: Tupolev Tu-144

Concorde was used for observing solar eclipses, including the solar eclipse of 30 June 1973 and again for the total solar eclipse on 11 August 1999, chasing the moon's shadow at supersonic speeds.

Pope John Paul II flew on Concorde in May 1989, one of many notable passengers carried by the supersonic airliner over its operational life.

On 9 October 1975, Concorde received its French certificate of airworthiness, clearing it for commercial passenger service.

Concorde was certified by the UK Civil Aviation Authority on 5 December 1975, completing the certification process required for British commercial operations.

Concorde entered service on 21 January 1976, with Air France flying from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from London Heathrow, beginning scheduled supersonic passenger flights.

Transatlantic flights became Concorde's main market, with services to Washington Dulles beginning on 24 May 1976.

Elizabeth II and Prime Ministers Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair took Concorde on charter flights, including the Queen's trips to Barbados for her Silver Jubilee in 1977, again in 1987 and 2003, to the Middle East in 1984 and to the US in 1991.

Concorde services to New York JFK began on 17 October 1977, completing the lucrative transatlantic routes that became the aircraft's principal market.

Braniff International Airways operated Concordes at subsonic speed between Dulles International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from January 1979 until May 1980, using its own flight and cabin crew, insurance and operator's licence. An earlier arrangement ran three flights between 9–13 December 1977 before resuming on 24 January 1979 and operating until 1 November 1980.

The first flight with the safety modifications departed from London Heathrow on 17 July 2001, piloted by Bannister, testing changes made in response to the Flight 4590 crash.

Normal commercial operations resumed on 7 November 2001 with BA and AF aircraft G-BOAE and F-BTSD, with service to New York JFK, where Mayor Rudy Giuliani greeted the passengers.

On 13 February 1985, a Concorde charter flight flew from London Heathrow to Sydney in a time of 17 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds, including refuelling stops.

On 12–13 October 1992, commemorating the 500th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage, Concorde Spirit Tours chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and circumnavigated the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds from Lisbon, with six refuelling stops. The same aircraft set an eastbound record on 15–16 August 1995.

The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was achieved on 7 February 1996 from New York JFK to London Heathrow by British Airways G-BOAD, aided by a 175 mph tailwind, in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds from take-off to touchdown.

On 12 April 1989, Concorde G-BOAF, on a chartered flight from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, suffered a structural failure at supersonic speed. A similar failure occurred on G-BOAB on 21 March 1992, and four incidents of partial rudder separation occurred in 1991, 1998, 2002 and 2003.

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, registration F-BTSC, crashed shortly after take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport en route to New York JFK, killing all 109 occupants and four people on the ground. It remains the only fatal incident involving Concorde. Before the accident, Concorde had been arguably the safest operational passenger airliner in the world.

Image source: Air France Flight 4590

Following the Flight 4590 crash, all commercial Concorde service was suspended until November 2001 while modifications were developed and implemented.

Although a French court initially found Continental Airlines criminally liable for the Flight 4590 crash in 2010, an appeals court overturned the criminal convictions in 2012, while maintaining civil responsibility for the company and the aircraft's manufacturer.

In 2003, Air France and British Airways announced the retirement of Concorde, owing to rising maintenance costs, low passenger numbers following the 25 July 2000 crash, and the slump in air travel following the September 11 attacks.

Air France flew its last commercial Concorde flight on 30 May 2003, ending the airline's 27 years of supersonic passenger operations.

British Airways retired its Concorde fleet on 24 October 2003, marking the end of commercial supersonic passenger air travel, 27 years after operations had begun.

On its way to the Museum of Flight in November 2003, G-BOAG set a New York City-to-Seattle speed record of 3 hours, 55 minutes and 12 seconds.

In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight, Concorde was announced the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum, cementing its status as a design icon.