Factfile on Concorde
:: The delta-winged aircraft is just over 202 feet (61 meters) long at rest, but stretches between six and 10 inches during supersonic flight due to the airframe heating up.
:: Its cruising speed is 2,150 kilometers per hour (1,335 miles per hour), just over twice the speed of sound -- and faster than a standard rifle bullet.
:: A typical transatlantic flight takes a little under three and a half hours -- compared to eight hours for a subsonic flight -- at an altitude of up to 60,000 feet (around 18,000 meters or over 11 miles high).
:: Because it travels more quickly than the earth rotates, heading westward over the Atlantic the plane effectively lands before it has taken off.
:: The name was first coined by then-French President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. The British version was initially called "Concord", but the "e" was formally added to match the French spelling.
:: The plane was only ever flown by British Airways and Air France. However the London to Singapore route which ran for three years from 1977 was a joint BA/Singapore Air service, and one Concorde briefly had one side painted in each of the airlines' logos.
:: In all, 20 Concordes were made. Both countries made one pre-production prototype and one flying prototype, used only briefly. BA and Air France took eight production models each, of which five BA jets are still operational.
:: Although its relatively narrow fuselage can make it seem cramped compared with wide-bodied jets, Concorde is a distinctly luxurious plane, with only first class travel offered.
:: In its first 20 years, Concorde carried 3.7 million passengers, clocking up more supersonic hours than all the world's air forces.
:: BA accepted its first supersonic passenger reservation in 1960 -- nine years before Concorde's maiden flight and 16 years before paying passengers took to the skies.