Farewell Concorde The supersonic Concorde service of British Airways came to an end on October 23, 2003, when the last commercial flight took off for New York. Concorde never recovered after a horrific crash near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport three years ago, in which 113 people died, British Airways decided to retire the famous aircraft after 27 years because it was no longer profitable. As the last ever transatlantic Concorde flight carried 100 celebrities from New York and landed at Heathrow Airport on a Friday afternoon, a wave of applause, followed by a huge cheer, went up from the thousands of people gathered there for the historical event. The sight of the three supersonic jets landing one after another was itself an extraordinary event for the enthusiasts in the crowd, some of whom had traveled from as far away as South Africa Captain Mike Banister said he was "proud and privileged" to fly the plane back from New York. "What we have tried to do ís to make the retirement of Concorde a celebration something that both the public and airline can look back at with pride." The last Air France Concorde flight arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle on 31 May, 2003. The Airline’s five Concordes have all gone on public display: three in France, one in the US, and one in Germany, where the aircraft was cut into pieces for the final journey by road and canal before being reassembled.