Why were Concord Passenger Jets put out of commission in 2003?

Question

Why were Concord Passenger Jets put out of commission in 2003?

Answer 1

high cost of fuel and maintenance as well as an aging fleet.

Answer 2

Well actually the crash DID have an effect on the decision to keep them flying.  The cost to mod existing Concords to address the issues that came up during the crash investigation would've put Air France in the red. Sanity prevailed at both Air France and British Airways.

They were never money makers-it doesn't MATTER how pretty,s**y, neat whatever adjectives one uses: airlines fly aircraft to make money.  Without extensive subsidies, they would have been retired years before.

As far as luxury, they are cramped with narrow seats.  Many airlines 1st and Business Classes are nicer.

At the end of their lives they could only go supersonic over the pond, and then only for a relatively short time-NOTHING like they were designed to do.  The also were routinely carrying 1/4 of their capacity or less.

Answer 3

It wasn't the  best way to fly people and it was just too expensive to keep flying them.

Answer 4

everytime a Concord flies the polution it produces in the air is unbelievable. its costly and polluting.

Answer 5

I believe it was because they were getting old and too expensive to operate.  I seem to remember at least one crash near the end as well.

Edit:  How the h**l did I get three thumbs down for giving an honest answer?  Based on many of the following answers, it is also a correct one?  I would expect that on a political or religious thread but here?

Answer 6

The Concorde, way cool plane that it was, never was profitable. On top of that, it was getting way too expensive to maintain. Simple economics really.

Answer 7

The crash in Paris in 2000, 1960's technology, heavily subsidized / never profitable, just a real aviation boondoggle more than anything else...

Answer 8

The Concorde will probably never be matched as far as luxury, level of service and speed in our lifetime. The operational costs kept escalating and it was getting harder to justify keeping them in the air. Many people believe the fatal crash was the "last straw". It actually didn't have any real impact on whether they kept flying or not. It was a simple business decision to discontinue their operation.