Billion-Pound Sonic Boom Machine Retires After Burning Quite a Bit of Cash

KEY POINTS

•In 1962, Britain and France agreed to develop Concorde, a supersonic commercial jet named for unity.
•Concorde flew commercially from 1976 to 2003, attracting royals and celebrities before a costly crash ended its run.
•One Concorde is now displayed at New York City’s Intrepid Museum, where visitors can take timed tours.

Back in 1962, Britain and France got cozy and pooled their cash to birth Concorde, a supersonic commercial jet named for 'unity'—ironic, since it unified high costs and sonic booms that shattered windows and budgets. Debuting commercially in '76, Concorde wooed Queen Elizabeth II (who claimed seat 1A like it was Buckingham Palace), celebs like Phil Collins, and business execs willing to drop around $12,000 round-trip (~$20,000 today, or an eye-watering Netflix binge subscription). British Airways choked on £1 billion in yearly operating costs while cruising at Mach 2. A 2000 crash after a tire punctured fuel tanks tragically ended glamour flights, grounding Concorde jets for a year before permanent retirement in 2003. Now, one is parked on New York's Intrepid aircraft carrier museum, where $13 buys you a timed tour to ogle armchair-like leather seats, wrapped in plastic like grandma’s best couch.