The Concorde, a joint British-French venture that began as early as 1956, has been described as everything from an economic disaster to a modern marvel. Key British decision makers viewed supersonic air transportation as a necessity to remain at the front in the race among industrial age nations, as well as being able to keep face with the Americans who had leapt to a seemingly insurmountable lead in the air carrier industry. Through four Prime Ministers and various Parliamentary leaders, the Concorde managed to survive skeptics and go into joint production with the help of government subsidizing and very secret research into development, production, and operation costs. To this day that report remains a secret within the United Kingdom, but many have done their own research into these topics. What they have found leads one to believe that the Concorde is not quite the success, economically speaking, that British Airways and Air France would have the world to believe.Concorde - Success or Otherwise? In July of 2000, the Concorde suffered its first fatal accident in the 30 plus year history of its existence. With this crash came the expected questions of the aircraft's reliability and safety record, which were found to be remarkably good as compared to industry standards. Also coming into question is the necessity of supersonic transport, which leads to the world wondering just how good this aircraft is. Is it safe; is it economically sound; is it worth the costs and risks involved? I will attempt to answer these questions as objectively as possible, concentrating on the success or failure of the program in the United Kingdom.BACKGROUND By 1959, the British government considered supersonic transport a confirmed principle and began investigation into production and project development. From 1960-1962, the British and French governments discussed a joint supersonic transport venture, leading to a treaty signed...
