<Tr> <Th> Unit cost </Th> <Td> £ 23 million in 1977 </Td> </Tr> <P> Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde (/ ˈkɒnkɔːrd /) is a British - French turbojet - powered supersonic passenger jet airliner that was operated until 2003 . It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km / h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers . First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years . It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet - built Tupolev Tu - 144, which was operated for a much shorter period . </P> <P> Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo - French treaty . Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft . Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde . The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concorde's speed and luxury service . For example, in 1997, the round - trip ticket price from New York to London was $7995, more than 30 times the cost of the cheapest option to fly this route . </P> <P> The original program cost estimate of £ 70 million met huge overruns and delays, with the program eventually costing £ 1.3 billion . It was this extreme cost that became the main factor in the production run being much smaller than anticipated . Another major factor impacting the viability of all SST programs was in how supersonic route options were eventually limited to ocean - crossing only to prevent sonic boom disturbance on populated areas . With only 7 airframes each being operated by the English and French, the per - unit cost were impossible to recoup, so the French and British governments absorbed the airframe and development costs . British Airways and Air France were able to operate Concorde at a profit, in spite of very high maintenance costs, because of this steep government subsidy . British Airways paid £ 1 per aircraft, so its entire Concorde fleet cost the airline £ 7 . </P>

How much did it cost to ride on the concorde