Last Friday saw the removal of the British Airways Concorde model from the gateway to Heathrow Airport, after 16 years of catching the eye and attention of tourists from all over the world – and advertising the “Best of British”.

The scaled-down model was passed by more than 25 million travellers a year – more than 400 million over the last decade and a half.

In Concorde’s place – a commercial advert.

Emirates Airlines saw off competition for the site to sign a six-year deal, raising its profile for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Vic Sheppard, Emirates vice president UK and Ireland, said to the Guardian on 30 March: “Concorde will always have a place in the hearts of all aviation enthusiasts, but it represents the past, while we will be using the site in a fresh and innovative way.”

Now – is this progress?