Mexican Air Force Buys 787 for VIP Flights
 

Mexican air force 787 starts VIP conversion - 10/20/2014 - Flight Global

Is it only in the UK that Head of State/VIP operations are considered politically incorrect?

No, not just the UK. Most well run democracies don't have them - off the top of my head, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden etc.

Having a large number of VIP state jets is an indication of how corrupt and kleptocratic a country is - look at Nigeria - the president has eleven private jets, and most ministers have their own too. Do you think that is a good thing?

New Zealand had at least one 757... And good on them!
I think if the majority of your population are not starving, then it can be an important tool for a government. Nigeria, not so much... Eleven jets!

I'm all for a UK one, however the proviso is that they take the standard Ryan Air / EasyJet seat pitch as a standard, then knock half an inch off that, the VIP seats should be pitched at that.
That way it may discourage our politicians from flying around the World and putting their noses into conflicts / countries politics that do not concern them.

These trinkets betray self-understanding - think back to RBS and its insane Edinburgh edifice (£350m AND a flypast of 4 Tonkas when it was opened) a year or so before the financial meltdown. What do these things say about how we understand ourselves? I don't mind them at all in principle but best left alone if unjustified and not resilient to whispers of hubris.

I think Her Maj should have her own jet, shared with the Head of Government. Leasing expensive 777's cannot be the way to go. That's what the Queen's Flight was about.

The USofA is putting out a tender to replace the old 747-200's. The tender calls for 4 engines (and I agree with that safety case.)

The RAF have trained 330 (Voyager) crews. Why not procure a second hand (many on the market and so not too expensive) 340-500 (RR Engines) and tart it up with secure comms (for our man with his finger on our button) and a decent interior for Her Maj

Al R ... Not forgetting G-RBSG and the Pantone 281 Mercedes S-Class to precisely match the bank’s corporate blue. :rolleyes:

Check their fleet out, I had dealings with their rotary wing side more for Super Puma maintenance,

http://calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/o...-presidencial/

In effect his own private air force and he had his own security force - non of which were part of the Mexican military or answerable to their department of defense.

Cheers

*Got to move the drugs around in style I guess.

The RAAF is looking at a new VIP configured KC-30A to join another new tanker to meet the pollies urge. In this country the bleating press hanger-ons demand J class seats to accompany the PM etc

.
Didn't we spend a lot of money on VIP Boeing BBJs a while ago?

What's with this media gravytrain?
Ad hoc charter an A330 if it can be shown that the Mad Monk's media circus requires that many flunkies to cover his next embarrassing series of gaffes.

Harrumph!

Now who makes 4engined airliners today?

I can just see the pigs running round the barrel.

I'm fairly sure that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were conveyed in RNZAF and RAAF aircraft when they visited Down Under earlier this year for part of the journey there and back. I believe for the near-UK legs the usual charter arrangements were in place.

While I agree that the fleets of modern biz jets operated by some near-bankrupt states is positively obscene, I do think that our own Head of State and high ranking government people should be conveyed around by modern, appropriately equipped aircraft operated, maintained and crewed by the armed forces.

Talking of modern, No.32 Squadron's fixed wing aircraft are all in the region of 28-30 years old now.

I seem to remember when Blair was in power he wanted an A330 which the press immediately nick named 'Blair Force One' When the Palace was approached, they suggested something like a Global Express as the Royal entourage would be smaller....
mmitch.

I seem to recall seeing somewhere that the Uk was the only G8 country not to have a dedicated Govt transport, with secure comms.

Was the original Blair plan not to have something in the A319 size for short/medium range travel to allow journalists etc to travel with the PM?

Gordon Brown cancelled that, and there was a proposal for something for short range UK use, but that was abandoned as well.

Surely an A330 tanker would be the best bet, heck it could trail its own defence force ;)

Boeing and Airbus.

However, my money (in more ways than one) is on the Boeing 747-800.

am afraid that much as I like unusual aircraft or ones painted in unusual colours as far as UK is concerned I would not just get rid of the dedicated aircraft and private 777 charters but also the cars as well . Making important people travel the way the rest of us do is the only way things would ever get improved.

With apologies to the biz jet folks here I think if the US didn't have biz jets or they were taxed exhorbitantly then air travel there would be a much much nicer experience since CEOs of big corporations having to fly 'commercial' would soon see standards improve both on the ground and in the air.

I take it you have never traveled on a corporate jet, either domestically or internationally.

The difference from flying from Teterboro, NJ, KTEB, (New York City) to Luton, EGGW, in a corporate jet to Luton, as compared to going from JFK to EGLL is more than the difference between night and day.

When a CEO leaves from KTEB, they are driven up to the aircraft, their luggage is placed on the aircraft, then they get on the aircraft and the aircraft departs for London. When they land at EGGW, there is a car waiting for them and 99% of the time by the time the luggage is loaded into the car, they have cleared customs and off to London they go. Trust me, I’ve done this enough times with my passengers.


There is no comparison really.

I think that was kind of the point Pax was trying to make?

ISTR Bliar wanted an A330.