Concorde made money for British Airways in every year it flew. Originally, however, they had to return 80% of any operating profit to the UK Government in exc

Concorde made money for British Airways in every year it flew. Originally, however, they had to return 80% of any operating profit to the UK Government in exchange for a 'Condorde Subsidy' After BA had been privatised they bought themselves out of that agreement, ending the subsidy but pocketing the profit directly. They then proceeded to operate the fleet for another 20 years. So, in a British context, on an operating basis Concorde absolutely was economically viable. On a program basis, considering all the development costs, it was not; but then again the Boeing 787 program is > $30 billion in deficit right now and is unlikely to ever clear that.