Concorde allow for "luxury" features of subsonic air travel such as moving space, reclining seats and overall comfort. In the words of "The Guardian"'s Dave Hall, "Concorde was an outdated notion of prestige that left sheer speed the only luxury of supersonic travel." Air France made its final commercial Concorde landing in the United States in New York City from Paris on 30 May 2003. Air France's final Concorde flight took place on 27 June 2003 when F-BVFC retired to Toulouse. An auction of Concorde parts and memorabilia for Air France was held at Christie's in Paris on 15 November 2003;
Braniff International Airways place in Washington on each flight. Braniff became the registered operator of the planes while on U.S. domestic service, and the planes were physically re-numbered with temporary adhesive vinyl. Registration was then returned to Air France or British Airways on the trans-Atlantic leg. Over American soil, the Concorde was limited to Mach 0.95, though crews often flew just above Mach 1; the planes flew at Mach 2 over open water. Concorde service proved a loss leader for Braniff. Braniff charged only a 10 percent premium over standard first-class fare to fly the Concorde – and later removed the surcharge altogether