Summary
Air France took delivery of seven Aérospatiale/BAC Concordes between December 1975 and October 1980.
These aircraft, alongside those operated by British Airways, heralded supersonic travel and became flagships of the fleet.
Sadly, owing to restrictions on where they could travel thanks to the noise footprint, services were limited. For Air France, its key Concorde routes were from Paris Charles de Gaulle to New York JFK and Washington Dulles. Some early services saw them briefly serve Dakar, Caracas and Mexico City.
Concorde F-BVFF at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. (Pedro Aragão, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 Licence)
Five Air France Concorde aircraft were leased to Braniff International Airways in January 1979, although only four remained with the carrier until the end of the lease period in June 1980. F-BVFD was withdrawn early from service in May 1982, reportedly due to being surplus to Air France’s requirements.
Air France Concorde Crash
Tragically F-BTSC was destroyed in a fatal accident shortly after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on 25 July 2000. Although Air France eventually returned four Concordes into service after the crash, they were finally retired in May/June 2003 due to low passenger numbers following the Paris crash, the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US on air travel, and rising maintenance costs. Where are the remaining six Air France Concordes today?
Where Are Air France’s Concordes Now?
F-BVFA
Concorde F-BVFA on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Dulles Airport, Washington DC, USA. (Eric Salard, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence)
Concorde F-BVFA was delivered to Air France in December 1975 and was withdrawn from service in May 2003. The aircraft is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Washington DC, USA.
F-BVFB
Concorde F-BVFB on display at the Technik Museum, Sinsheim, Germany alongside a Tupolev Tu-144 (CCCP-77112). (Valder137, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence)
Concorde F-BVFB was delivered to Air France in April 1976 and was withdrawn from service in May 2003. The aircraft is displayed on the roof of the Technik Museum, Sinsheim, Germany, alongside an example of the only other supersonic airliner to be built, the Tupolev Tu-144 (CCCP-77112).
F-BVFC
Concorde F-BVFC at the Aeroscopia Museum in Toulouse, France. (By Joris Egger, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 Licence)
Air France took delivery of Concorde F-BVFC in August 1976 and the aircraft was finally withdrawn from service in June 2003. It is currently on display at the Aeroscopia Museum in Toulouse, France.
F-BVFF
Concorde F-BVFF at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. (Dennis Jarvis, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence)
Concorde F-BVFF was delivered to Air France in October 1980 and was withdrawn from service in June 2000. The aircraft is preserved and displayed on a plinth at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France.
F-BTSD
Concorde F-BTSD next to Concorde Prototype 001, F-WTSS, at the Musée de l’air et de l’espace, near Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France. (Clemens Vasters, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence)
Acquired by Air France in September 1978, Concorde F-BTSD was withdrawn from service in May 2003. The aircraft currently resides at the Musée de l’air et de l’espace (Air and Space Museum), near Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France, and is displayed alongside the first Concorde Prototype, 001(F-WTSS).
Concorde F-BVFD was delivered to Air France in March 1977 and withdrawn from service just over five years later in May 1982. The aircraft was stored at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, and used as a source of spare parts for the other aircraft in Air France’s Concorde fleet before being broken up in 1994 after the development of significant corrosion. Some fuselage sections are stored at Le Bourget, France and the nose section is preserved by a private owner in the United States.
Did you fly on an Air France Concorde? Have you seen them all? Leave a comment below!
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8 comments
I believe my son Philippe was one of the youngest passengers ever at the tender age of two months and 26 days, on Air France flight 002 from JFK to Paris on Sept 23, 1988. He sat on my wife’s knees during the flight, there was no room for a bassinet.
I saw a Concorde in 2013 at the airport in Barbadas .I worked at English Electric in Preston England where we made the wing spars.
Ich habe die F-BTSC beim Flugtag “Der Hahn soll fliegen” am HHN vor der Startbahnverlängerung “full afterburner” starten gesehen. Dabei stand ich auf dem Grünstreifen zwischen Rollfeld und Startbahn vielleicht 1 000 ft. vor dem abheben. Der sound war unbeschreiblich und der Druck der Triebwerke drückte einem den Kehlkopf in den Hals. Unvergesslich !!! Der Rundflug ging zum Nordcap und zurück. Preislich leider nicht für mich erschwinglich gewesen. Schade, dass sie ein so unrühmliches Ende gefunden hat. Schade das man die Basis nicht wirklich weiterentwickelt hat und wir immer noch weiter “Traktor fahren” !
There is also a Concorde at the Flugzeugsammlung Jung in Hermeskeil/Germany
Michel, thanks for the comment. It is a wooden replica model of the pre-production Concorde, F-WTSA, at the Flugzeugsammlung Jung in Hermeskeil, Germany. The actual aircraft is on display at the Delta Museum, near Paris Orly Airport.
You mention that some fuselage parts of F-BVFD are stored at LBG, do you have any details on this, are they on display anywhere?
Hi Folks,
My family and I flew on a Air France Concorde
‘CharterFlight’from Paris to Edinburgh .via up and down the North Sea to experience Mach flying. The Edinburgh press “Hailed my daughter” she was two at the time , as “The Supersonic Toddler” Exciting ! I’m vauge about the date !!!! Any more info on this flight ?
Fantastic memories Angus! Sorry I don’t know when the flight might have been.
Matt