Concorde: Final touchdown
2003-05-30 22:04
New York - An Air France Concorde jet landed at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport for the last time on Friday morning.
The jet landed at 08:10 (1210 GMT).
The French Concorde will make its final flight on Saturday, after 27 years under the Air France banner, as it speeds across the skies from New York's John F Kennedy airport to Paris.
Flight AF001 takes off at 08:00 (1200 GMT) on Saturday, landing a mere three hours and 45 minutes later at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
The Concordes flown by British Airways - which has a fleet of seven of the 12 supersonic aircraft - will operate for a few months longer out of London before being withdrawn, with New York and seasonal Barbados flights to continue through the end of October.
The only companies in the world to operate this kind of aircraft, Air France and British Airways, jointly announced on April 10 their intention to stop operating the jet because of spiraling maintenance costs and declining passenger levels.
- AFX