Aid from Rivals

France and Britain are already far along in their $500 million program to develop their own supersonic airliner, the needle-nosed Concorde. Last week, in a surprise turnabout, the British and French state-owned airlines--BOAC and Air France--placed six orders apiece for the rival U.S. supersonic transport. Though the exact design of the American SST has not yet been determined, the plane will definitely be bigger and faster, and will have a longer range than the Mach 2.2 Concorde. The British-French move not only gave a heartening boost to the U.S. project but stirred new doubts about the future of the Concorde. The British government has already begun to grouse about its development costs, and BOAC and Air France have been worried that the Concorde may not be efficient enough to compete with the U.S. supersonics on the key North Atlantic run. Score to date: 64 orders for the American SST v. 37 for the Concorde.

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