Aircraft used for overseas Royal Flights

[juliet]

Just seen a news clip relating to the upcoming execution of the Bali Bombers which mentioned that Prince Charles had just arrived for unrelated meetings.

Of interest was that he arrived in an Airbus, think it was a 320, certainly one of the 320 series. Anyway, the jet was all white but with a stripe down the fuselage, much like the Royal Flight. In addition there was a Union Flag painted next to the forward left door.

Question is who does this jet belong to? Seen Charlie use many private/chartered business jets but not with the addition of the Flag.

Cheers

[juliet]

Not sure of the news outlet, was just flicking through, might have been Euro News or whatever its called.

Presume that it is a private hire, just surprised at the addition of the Flag.

Maybe Charlie is trying one out before putting a word in with 32.

[0497]

Getty Images gallery:
Getty Images - Unsupported browser detected (http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=en-US&family=editorial&assetType=image&ebd=2008-10-27&eed=2008-11-02&p=prince%20charles%20airport&src=standard)

Twinjet ACJ

[im from uranus]

It was chartered from here (http://www.twinjet.co.uk/charter.asp?link=airbus). The Union flag will be a temporary sticker.

IFU

[Fareastdriver]

The sticker is most likely to give the impression that the aircraft belongs to the British government. Very important in that part of the world. You cannot have the heir to the British throne looking like a scruff when the prime minister of Australia arrives in his RAAF 737 BBJ and the NZ one in her RNZAF 757-200.

[XV277]

But inthe Uk there appears to be a resentment of our Heads of State/Government having our own aircraft.

[brit bus driver]

Or the Canadian Prime Minister in his VIP A310.

[Biggles225]

A dedicated Royal Aircraft, oh no! Come on you chaps, theres a bank or two to bail out first. What about the Tri at Marshalls, could always put in a posh carpet and borrow some decent seats from somewhere, there you go, problem solved! They don't use it much anyway, so it will look like an economy measure. Its all about priorities don'cher know. :ugh:

[Warmtoast]

According to the Telegraph Prince Charles's trip and his entourage of 15 to the Far east is costing £500,000. £500,000 would make a useful downpayment for a dedicated Airbus 319 for VIP flights. If we add the £280,186 cost to taxpayers for his official trip to America in November 2005, the £304,000 cost of of hiring a private jet for his 2006 tour of Egypt, India and Saudi Arabia AND also add the cost of his 2007 week-end trip to New York to pick up an award for his work on the environment, when he booked the entire first-class and business class section of a B-747 for his 20-strong entourage.
If he had paid full fare for the 14 first class seats and 48 business class seats the return flight would have cost £281,530, but one assumes he negotiated a discount of some sort and paid less.

Personally I feel embarrassed when nearly every other major country appears to be able to run an aircraft for VIP use, except the UK. A further example is when our foreign secretary David Miliband visited the DR Congo last week with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner - I assume Kouchner tavelled in the French French Government Falcon 900 or Airbus A319-115X and our foreign minister tagged along for the ride, which makes economic sense, but leaves the UK look like the poor man of Europe.

I'm very much in favour of a dedicated aircraft for VIP flights and just paying the charter companies hundreds of thousands of pounds for these trips doesn't seem to offer good value for money.

PS. Back to Charlie's trip to the Far East. I see that one of the reasons for his visit to Indonesia is for him to promote his Rainforest Project. Given that he has the ability to talk to the trees (in a 1986 interview he discussed his gardening habits, commenting "I just come and talk to the plants, really. Very important to talk to them; they respond"), so if he still talks to the trees and does so during his visit to his pet project in Indonesia, does he talk to them in Malay or English? - and do they respond in the appropriate language?

[Union Jack]

..... does he talk to them in Malay or English? - and do they respond in the appropriate language?

Hmm - I wonder what "B*gg*r off, Big Ears" is in Bahasa Indonesia .....:*

Jack

[CirrusF]

I'm very much in favour of a dedicated aircraft for VIP flights and just paying the charter companies hundreds of thousands of pounds for these trips doesn't seem to offer good value for money.


I would guess that this question has been looked at in some detail by the Treasury and that it is probably more economical to charter. Moreover, chartering offers the further advantage that an appropriate aircraft can be found for each indvidual trip - eg VIP Airbus for long-haul, or a smaller aircraft for short-haul trips. Commercial VIP aircraft are also considerably more luxurious and opulent than anything that could be politically justified as a state aircraft, and thus may even be prefered by the VIPs themselves.

[Fareastdriver]

Yoy havn't seen the inside of the RAAF 737 BBF.