Courtesy Associated Press

Two supersonic Concordes returned to New York on Wednesday, more than 15 months after another of the airliners spewed a trail of flames during takeoff and plunged to the ground. The first passenger flights since the crash marked a long-awaited comeback during one of the worst slumps in aviation history.

A British Airways Concorde, whose 91 passengers included rock star Sting, touched down at Kennedy International Airport at about 9:10 a.m., said airline spokeswoman Jemma Moore.

``It's great to be back on the Concorde,'' said Ron Collier, a British reinsurance broker who was on the British Airways flight from London. ``It makes life much easier.''He said security was much tighter than in the past, ``including body searchesand bag searches on the jetway.''

An Air France Concorde with 92 passengers landed at JFK shortly before 8:30 a.m. after a three-hour, 55 minute flight from Paris.

``Welcome to the capital of the world,'' Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told the arriving passengers. He was at the airport to greet both flights.

``Spend a lot of money while you're here,'' the mayor said, pushing New York's economic revival after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

In a third Concorde flight Wednesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair took a special charter to Washington for a quick and expensive dinner date with President Bush.

To show their confidence, French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot and Air France chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta were aboard the flight from Paris -- the first passenger-carrying Concorde flight since the July 25, 2000, crash that killed 113 people in France.

``This is the greatest tribute we can pay to the 113 people who lost their lives, and to whom I dedicate this flight,'' Spinetta said before takeoff.

The British Airways Concorde had taken off from London about an hour after the Air France flight, on an invitation-only flight. British Airways commercial flights to New York resume Friday.

Engineers say they have fixed the flaws that led to the crash -- the first in the Concorde's 25-year service. There also was a nod to safety concerns following the Sept. 11 terror attacks: silver cutlery has been replaced with plastic.

Security was tight as passengers checked in for the Paris-New York flight. Armed police patrolled the check-in area and fire trucks were on standby.

Investigators are expected to issue their report on the cause of the crash by early next year, but the crash has been widely blamed on a ruptured tire that sent debris flying into a fuel tank.

Equally important to the engineering changes, aviation analysts say, is the symbolism of the Concorde reclaiming the sky. ``One of the icons of the civil aviation industry is returning,'' said Chris Yates, aviation safety editor at Jane's Transport in London. ``It's the shot in the arm that the industry needs at this moment.''