Paris says farewell to Concorde

Concorde's farewell echoed the subdued tone of the air show

French President Jacques Chirac has paid tribute to the retiring supersonic passenger plane Concorde at the 45th Paris air show.

The president, along with hundreds of spectators, applauded as one of Air France's Concordes performed a flight of honour over Le Bourget airport, before landing and taking its place at the nearby Air and Space Museum.

Air France retired its fleet in May, and in June donated the oldest of its five Concorde aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in the US.

British Airways will put its Concordes out of commission by October.

The Paris show is being attended by nearly 40 countries, displaying about 200 aircraft.

However the event this year has been considerably more subdued after many US firms pulled out because of bad blood between the two countries following the US-led Iraqi conflict.

No recovery

No US military planes will be present at the event, and no senior executives from US aerospace or military firms, including Lockheed Martin, the world's largest arms maker, will be present.

US exhibitors will total 183, down from 350 at the last Paris show in 2001, Reuters news agency reported.

Business is also not expected to be as brisk as in previous years.

Analyst say that although some major contracts could be announced, a full recovery in the aviation industry is unlikely in the next two years.

The event also comes amid a sharp downturn in global travel because of the continuing US-led war against terrorism, and the Sars epidemic.

However officials at the show insisted that they would still provide enough spectacle for the crowds.