FIRST -- Air France Concorde to Open Service to Rio, Washington, & NYC - Chantilly, VA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 38° 54.597 W 077° 26.655
18S E 288066 N 4309624
Out of only 20 made, 18 survived and one resides here in the Smithsonian.
Waymark Code: WMJNB7
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2013
Views: 5
The plaque on the upper observatory deck says, "The first supersonic airliner, the graceful Concorde flew thousands of passengers at twice the speed of sound for 25 years. Air France and British Airways jointly inaugurated Concorde service in 1976. The aircraft could carry up to 100 passengers and catered to a first-class clientele. It could cross the Atlantic in less than four hours--twice as fast as a conventional jetliner. However, its high operating costs resulted in very high fares. Few could afford to fly it. These problems and a shrinking market force service to be reduced until all concords were retired in 2003.
In 1989 Air France agreed to donate a Concorde to the Smithsonian after the aircraft's retirement. On June 12, 2003, it honored that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVTA upon completion of its last flight. This aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, and New York City."
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
Date of FIRST: Not listed
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