Sir Richard Branson's attempt to take over the operation of Concorde from British Airways (BA) - which is reported to have made a negative response to his offer towards the end of April to buy all seven aircraft for £1 - has run into further opposition, reports the Financial Times.

Noel Forgeard, chief executive of manufacturers Airbus with responsibility for maintenance of the aircraft, told the paper: The costs of operating Concorde, and in particular of maintenance and support, have become such that operations are unrealistic for any operator.

He continued: We will absolutely not, as Airbus, support any initiative to put Concorde back into operation by any other operator. I don't want any ambiguity around that. It is not that the aircraft is unsafe, but it is impossible to imagine conditions of operation that are realistic. We would have to charge such an incredible amount to the operator that it makes it quite unrealistic.

Elsewhere, in reply to a letter from Sir Richard asking for financial information on the operation of Concorde and requesting that every option be explored to keep the aircraft flying, BA chair, Lord Marshall said that a review of operations had indicated there was no realistic prospect of flights continuing beyond October 2003 whether by BA or any other operator. Details: www.britishairways.com / www.virgin.com