mjenkins, I think the root of this is with Airbus and AF. They made a decision. BA may have challenged this or accepted it.
Once the decision was made, BA have tried to make the best of it by ensuring that VS do not get the machines.
Whilst I do not blame BA for trying to prevent their competitor from gaining a uniqye advantage (and a massive financial problem!) anyone seeking to assign 'blame' for shutting Concorde down - look at Airbus Industrie and Air France. This is not anti French, just a view on where the decision stems from.
The machines are clearly able to operate for another period of time. If they were not, the insurance companies would never have allowed it. One hull loss in 30 years? Not sure if any other a/c can match that? (I sit to be corrected).