Yesteryear

10 Years Ago

The Concorde fleet of Air France and British Airways will be retired by October 31 2003 following simultaneous announcements from both airlines on April 10. Although the type has engineering certification to fly at least until 2009 and could continue until 2015, the decision is a commercial one arising from declining passenger numbers and increasing maintenance costs.

On April 4 Boeing announced a contract with the Japanese Defence Agency and the Itochu trading company for the first Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) 767 Tanker Transport (767TT), a derivative of the 767-200ER. The first of four aircraft will be delivered in the northern spring of 2007 with the final delivery in 2010.