page_title: Concorde
section_title: Public perception
hierarchical_section_title: Concorde / Impact / Public perception
caption_attribution_description: Español: Concorde fue el primer avión supersónico en llevar pasajeros. English: Concorde parade flight with the Red Arrows at the Queen's Golden Jubilee Deutsch: Paradeflugshow einer Concorde mit den Red Arrows anlässlich des Queen's Golden Jubilee Eesti: Concorde ülehelikiirusega reisilennuk Queen's Golden Jubilee pidus Français&#160;: Supersonique Concorde paradant avec les Red Arrows pour le Jubilé d'Or de la Reine Elisabeth II. Русский: Полёт самолёта Конкорд на параде Queen's Golden Jubilee
context_page_description: The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde is a British–French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner that was operated until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound, at Mach 2.04, with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which operated in the late 1970s.
  Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation under an Anglo-French treaty. Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France and British Airways were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde. The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for the aircraft's speed and luxury service. For example, in 1997, the round-trip ticket price from New York to London was $7,995, more than 30 times the cost of the cheapest option to fly this route.
  The original programme cost estimate was £70 million.
context_section_description: Concorde was normally perceived as a privilege of the rich, but special circular or one-way (with return by other flight or ship) charter flights were arranged to bring a trip within the means of moderately well-off enthusiasts.
  The aircraft was usually referred to by the British as simply "Concorde". In France it was known as "le Concorde" due to "le", the definite article, used in French grammar to introduce the name of a ship or aircraft, and the capital being used to distinguish a proper name from a common noun of the same spelling. In French, the common noun concorde means "agreement, harmony, or peace".  Concorde's pilots and British Airways in official publications often refer to Concorde both in the singular and plural as "she" or "her".
  As a symbol of national pride, an example from the BA fleet made occasional flypasts at selected Royal events, major air shows and other special occasions, sometimes in formation with the Red Arrows. On the final day of commercial service, public interest was so great that grandstands were erected at Heathrow Airport. Significant numbers of people attended the final landings; the event received widespread media coverage.
  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. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the Mini, mini skirt, Jaguar E-Type, Tube map, the World Wide Web, K2 telephone box and the Supermarine Spitfire.
caption: Parade flight at Queen's Golden Jubilee in June 2002
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