British Airways said this evening it was considering retiring its fleet of seven Concorde supersonic aircraft owing to poor demand for the luxury services.
"The retirement date of Concorde is under review, but no decision has been made at the moment as to when that will be," said a BA spokeswoman.
BA has struggled to attract Concorde customers since an Air France Concorde crashed during takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in July 2000, killing all 109 on board plus four on the ground.
Demand for premium and business class air travel has also been hit particularly hard by the economic slowdown.
"In the current commercial environment where business and premium brands are under increased pressure it's only prudent for us to think carefully about when we should retire Concorde," said the spokeswoman.
She could not say when a decision would be made on the seven-plane fleet, only five of which are in current service.
"There's a huge number of factors to consider," she added.
A decision by British Airways to ground its fleet of aging Concordes, the only operating airliner in the world that can fly faster than the speed of sound, would leave just Air France operating the aircraft.
AFP