How true?
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How true?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6836065/ministry-of-defence-thomas-cooke-jet2-holidays/amp/
i know there is always a bit of journalistic exaggeration but when you hear of some of the delays a d travel woes experienced.......
i know there is always a bit of journalistic exaggeration but when you hear of some of the delays a d travel woes experienced.......
Maybe 3 or 4 years late but it's true as is everything is true that the Sun right's is true,
Gotcha RAF making money on the side by ripping of Brits going on holiday.
Gotcha RAF making money on the side by ripping of Brits going on holiday.
Utter drivel from The Sun... But then it did originate in the Mail on Sunday.
The RAF's AAR capability is obtained through the bolleaux of PFI at a cost of over £1M per day from AirTanker, which owns the aircraft. A small number of A330 aircraft surplus to the RAF's immediate requirements is available for third party revenue purposes, such as bucket-and-spading for Thomas Cook and Jet2.
At least the massive and expensive AirTanker facility at Brize is brand new - no longer do the AAR squadrons have to operate from decaying WW2-era hovels. The aircraft are kept in 'as new' condition and are pristine.
The RAF's AAR capability is obtained through the bolleaux of PFI at a cost of over £1M per day from AirTanker, which owns the aircraft. A small number of A330 aircraft surplus to the RAF's immediate requirements is available for third party revenue purposes, such as bucket-and-spading for Thomas Cook and Jet2.
At least the massive and expensive AirTanker facility at Brize is brand new - no longer do the AAR squadrons have to operate from decaying WW2-era hovels. The aircraft are kept in 'as new' condition and are pristine.
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Gotcha RAF making money on the side by ripping of Brits going on holiday.
The 3rd party G registered leased aircraft are in whatever livery and cabin fit the company (jet2) etc want. Obviously the RAF ones on the MAR are in military colours as you would expect.
The shareholders of Rolls Royce, Thales, Cobbam, Babcock and Airbus make the money on the side, the RAF don’t! Air Tanker make a profit just from the RAF aircraft, the 3rd party leased aircraft is pretty much all profit.
The 3rd party G registered leased aircraft are in whatever livery and cabin fit the company (jet2) etc want. Obviously the RAF ones on the MAR are in military colours as you would expect.
Leasing the 'spare' aircraft was always the intention and was included in the initial bid, so this is really old news.
As always they never compare like with like. The cost of the aircraft covers the operating costs over the term of the PFI and not just a straight purchase.
Doesn't make it cheap though.
As always they never compare like with like. The cost of the aircraft covers the operating costs over the term of the PFI and not just a straight purchase.
Doesn't make it cheap though.
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What the papers didn't mention was the ludicrous expense of having the aircraft built and configured as tankers, and then flown directly to another facility to be reconfigured immediately for Thomas Cook, which is what I believe happened with the first "civilianised" AT 330.
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I am waiting for the cabin PA announcement that informs the pax that their holiday in the sun will be slightly delayed whilst we refuel four Typhoons during the journey.
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What the papers didn't mention was the ludicrous expense of having the aircraft built and configured as tankers, and then flown directly to another facility to be reconfigured immediately for Thomas Cook, which is what I believe happened with the first "civilianised" AT 330.
Sure it costs to have the capability - renting them out was never supposed to cover those costs - just reduce them while still having the aircraft if we need them
Frustratingly, PPRuNe blocks part of this link - so replace the * with an o and you'll find some reasoned discussion of this.
The "news" organisations we rely on really are poor these days.
https://thinpinstripedline.bl*gspot....on-sunday.html
The "news" organisations we rely on really are poor these days.
https://thinpinstripedline.bl*gspot....on-sunday.html
Last edited by BossEyed; 23rd Jul 2018 at 13:00. Reason: Poor sentence construction
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A good example of where the current set up works is taking place just now (I believe). RAF Voyagers are going through an IFF update programme which takes a couple of months and is being completed one airframe at a time.
The MoD doesn’t lose any capability as one of the aircraft available for 3rd party is brought back into core therefore maintaining the fleet size while updates happen.
However, the PFI is chuffing expensive!!!!
The MoD doesn’t lose any capability as one of the aircraft available for 3rd party is brought back into core therefore maintaining the fleet size while updates happen.
However, the PFI is chuffing expensive!!!!
A good example of where the current set up works is taking place just now (I believe). RAF Voyagers are going through an IFF update programme which takes a couple of months and is being completed one airframe at a time.
The MoD doesn’t lose any capability as one of the aircraft available for 3rd party is brought back into core therefore maintaining the fleet size while updates happen.
The MoD doesn’t lose any capability as one of the aircraft available for 3rd party is brought back into core therefore maintaining the fleet size while updates happen.
I am waiting for the cabin PA announcement that informs the pax that their holiday in the sun will be slightly delayed whilst we refuel four Typhoons during the journey.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I recall many years ago an American lady I knew telling me that when on a trooping flight from Germany to the US in a KC135 the aircraft had carried out AAR during the flight. I always thought this was pretty unlikely, and assumed she had probably dreamt it during an inflight nap, but could it have happened? Does anyone on here familiar with the type know if her story might have been true?
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Have Air Tanker fitted a Boom to any of their fleet yet? Seems a bit daft that a number of RAF aircraft types reliant on just boom re-fuelling while the most expensive PFI deal ever fails to deliver.