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 In the words of "The Guardian"'s Dave Hall, "Concorde was an outdated notion of prestige that left sheer speed the only luxury of supersonic travel."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;
Concorde former Concorde director, to investigate the possibility of their own Concorde operations. This was seen as particularly viable for the airline's long-haul network as there were two unsold aircraft then available for purchase. One important reason for BCal's interest in Concorde was that the British Government's 1976 aviation policy review had opened the possibility of BA setting up supersonic services in competition with BCal's established sphere of influence. To counteract this potential threat, BCal considered their own independent Concorde plans, as well as a partnership with BA. BCal were considered most likely to have set up a Concorde service on