> but BA received their Concordes for free.

Only the last four white-tails were close to free, they cost 1 Franc each.

The original UK Government-borne £115 million contract cost of the BOAC / BA Concordes was being recouped at a rate of 80% of their operating profit until in 1984 BA bought themselves out of the arrangement for £25 million.

Interesting why was BA gifted their Concordes? Did Air France lose money on their Concorde routes?

According to a NYT article [1] from the 2003, when the Concorde flew it's last flight, the airlines have never disclosed exact numbers for the profitability of the Concorde. Air France said 'Concorde operation was profitable "in some years."' BA said it once was, but not after the AF Concorde crash in 2000.

They specifically mention that both Airlines didn't have to pay for the planes:

> Part of the reason the airlines could claim some profitability on the Concorde was because they did not have to incur capital costs on the planes. [...] The governments of England and France underwrote the costs of building the 14 Concordes, which were then turned over to the two national airlines.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/24/nyregion/for-concorde-econ...

My grandfather was one of the first pilots in Air France. He refused to fly the Concorde because he would never fly a plane that would make the company loose money.

Standard common-sense job security considerations.

Guess he would never have been an astronaut either.