New York, May 30: Plagued by flagging demand and rising costs, Air France Concorde has landed in New York for the last time. Saturday marks the last flight for the sleek, needle nosed supersonic aircraft from France. The last flight between Paris and New York touched down at John F. Kennedy Airport on Friday (May 30) morning. The five slender, needle-nosed Concordes in the Air France fleet now are destined for museums. Passengers on the flight included celebrity designer Roberto Cavalli who was not happy about the closing of the service. "It is the last flight and it is too bad because I use to fly each month and I am going to miss it very much . For me to come to New York on the Concorde it was really something else." French chef Alain Ducasse said that he would work out alternative travel options. He said: "I will still continue to fly to the United States on Delta or Air France, they are also very good. " Flight technician Bernard Collette, who had just come off his last Paris- New York concorde trip, was full of praise for the aircraft.


"It's the best flight I know. It is the best aircraft, it's very, I can say, I am very pleased to have flown it. After that it will be very difficult. When asked how the concorde will be remembered, Collette replied, " It will go back to the museum, concorde now. It is clear now. In June all concorde aircraft go back to the museum."


Nearly three years have gone by since a Concorde crash after take-off killed 113 people near Paris, grounding the planes for more than a year. British Airways will keep commercial Concorde flights running until October.


Bureau Report