Concordes museum-bound, says BA = Tom McGhie, Mail on Sunday = 2 March 2003 = BRITISH Airways is planning to give away its five remaining Concordes to = museums around the world. = The iconic aircraft, which cost taxpayers =A31.4 billion in the Sixties a= nd Seventies (more than =A36 billion in today's money), will never be sol= d, BA has vowed. = The refusal to sell the aircraft that were recently upgraded and refitted= for =A330 million, is bound to infuriate potential buyers, including Vir= gin Atlantic, that believe they can make a profit from the supersonic pla= nes. = A BA spokesman said: 'We will never sell this aircraft. The plane is syno= nymous with British Airways. It is almost a symbol of the airline. In any= case, no one but BA and Air France are capable of maintaining this fleet= =2E It would be like asking the corner garage to service a Formula 1 car.= ' = = But Will Whitehorn, righthand man to Sir Richard Branson at Virgin, said:= 'I am astonished that BA would not sell the aircraft. I am sure sharehol= ders would be interested in such a decision. = 'If they do come on the market, we would be interested in buying them. We= have done work on the costings and have had a team looking at the idea. = We wanted to buy two from Air France, but they pulled out at the last min= ute.' = Though Concorde is certified to fly until 2009, falling ticket sales and = rising costs seem certain to bring forward its demise. BA bosses last wee= k admitted that the future of Concorde was 'under review' because the dow= nturn in the economy meant there were not enough passengers willing to pa= y the =A38,000 for a return ticket from Heathrow to New York. = The supersonic fleet was grounded for more than a year after the Air Fran= ce Concorde crash in Paris in July 2000, in which 114 people died. The pl= ane returned to service in November 2001 after an upgrade. = The BA spokesman said: 'The retirement date of the aircraft is under revi= ew. In the current commercial environment where business and premium bran= ds are under increased pressure, it's only prudent for us to think carefu= lly about when we should retire Concorde.' = Roger EWROPS