RAF Voyager @ Heathrow
 

Just wondering why the PM didn't fly into Northolt the other week. My guess is that it was so he could get back to central London as quickly as possible. Any better ideas? I assume that landing at LHR is quite expensive...

Plus the fact that Northolt is currently closed to fixed wing aircraft for runway resurfacing.

We taxpayers are, of course, happy to bear the cost. :O

The Treasury loves happy tax payers!

But another question arises... why did the blond buffoon need an aircraft the size of the Voyager in the first place in order to visit that other blond buffoon on the other side of the Atlantic?

To answer my own question, I suppose really it was required to accommodate an over sized ego.
Well, perhaps.

Anyone know what aircraft May, Dave, Brown, Blair, Major, Thatcher and predecessors actually used under similar circumstances?

Thatcher used RAF VC-10s. Not sure about the rest of them. (I believe Blair cadged a lift on Airforce one at some stage)

The Voyager costs the taxpayer nothing, it all goes as "crew training"!!

Tony Blair had an adapted BA 777

I believe both Mrs May and Mr Blair used the Voyager on a number of occasions for long-haul flights and no-one batted an eyelid, so why demonise Johnson. Is this a political comment?

Aren't the flights full of the posse of journalists that follow the PM's around the world? Who pays their fare?

What kind of message does it send that one of the richest, most powerful nations on Earth sends its PM to a conference on a scheduled or cheap charter?
Perhaps we should take it out of the international development budget?

Yes, they are, plus representatives of business and other interests, (NGOs for example), all of whom have to pay for the privilege. It's not a free ride for anyone except the Whitehall contingency. I know because I've been on a couple of them.

While I think Boris should be in the Tower (of London not Heathrow ATC) I cannot criticise him for this.

We show remarkable restraint when it comes to air travel for our politicians and using a multipurpose aircraft which might as well ferry them around as opposed to pure training seems unusually sensible to me.
Not sure where we really rank with our strange often invisible economy in reality but we are a long long way down the list when it comes to head of state/ PM transports. way behind nations like Japan Germany China Russia Thailand the Gulf states and all kinds of 'developing ' countries which have dedicated large transports and miles behind the USA and France who have whole fleets of VIP transports .

Whether Boris ego can continue to be restrained if he stays as PM beyond this month who knows , maybe a high time ex BA 777 would do for him and Queenie although i think shes a bit past the long haul stuff these days

Apparently when 'Marine One' shuttles between the White House and Andrews there are actually three choppers airborne, two decoys and one carrying the president. As for the B747's, so called 'Air Force One's', I did read what it costs per hour to operate those, an incredible amount of money for one certain president to take his golfing holiday somewhere close to PIK!

As for Boris, it seems to be a current fad to knock him at every given opportunity, as has already been pointed out the runway at Northolt is too short to take a laden A330, past PM's have utilised the likes of fuel guzzling VC10's (in/out of LHR), seats on Concorde significantly more expensive than travelling subsonic etc., so what if Boris utilised an A330 for the purpose that it is designated and as for the suggestion that, vs crew training, it doesn't cost the taxpayer anything, who do you think pays for MoD (Air) Crew Training? :)

I have always thought that using RAF Transport was a very good political message to send. The smaller craft of The Queen's Flight are good for Europe and do not need a long haul machine when other suitable machines are already on the govt books.

It's probably a good thing that that there isn't a special jet as such otherwise Airmiles Andy would use it all the time.

Correct - 'twas Cameron. Mr Blair's attempts to but a couple a couple of business jets was refused.

Ready to close it and sell for housing ???