Following the two prototypes, two preproduction Concordes and two static and fatigue test airframes were built, the static airframe being tested to destruction to gauge the strength of the aircraft. Then, from the French Toulouse factory, came the first production aircraft, which flew on December 6,1973. This and the next three Concordes were flown in Arctic and tropical climates to assess their handling characteristics and performance. One of them made two return journeys across the North Atlantic in a single day, on September 1,1975.

All was now ready for the world's first regular air services by supersonic airliners. For these, the fifth and sixth production aircraft had been delivered to British Airways and Air France. Both airlines started their Concorde services simultaneously on January 21,1976, the British company flying from London to Bahrain, and the French from Paris to Rio de Janeiro.

Despite objections from anti-pollution factions on both sides of the Atlantic, the two airlines began flights to Dulles International Airport in Washington, USA, on May 24,1976. Vast crowds cheered the sleek deltas, which arrived in under half the time of a more conventional airliner. But the future of Concorde remained doubtful. Initially, 74 Concordes were reserved by 16 of the world's airlines; however, after the option system was withdrawn, in March 1973, they cancelled their orders. This reluctance to buy stemmed partly from Concorde's high operating costs, and partly from the controversial nature of the aircraft. Anti-pollution lobbies objected to what they considered to be its high noise and smoke emissions, and Concorde was refused landing rights at many of the world's major airports, on the world's busiest routes. Consequently, the British and French governments decided to produce no more Concordes after the sixteenth.

Nevertheless, on October 17,1977, the US Supreme Court overruled the New York Port Authority's ban on Concorde, thus resolving many of these difficulties. Commercial services between New York and London started at the end of 1977, with daily services beginning in January 1978. In December 1977, British Airways and Singapore Airlines operated a shared Concorde service between London and Singapore.