* Airbus A330 refuelling planes available for VIP use
* Planes double as transport aircraft with normal cabins
* Industry proposal follows Boeing 747 charter gaffe
By Tim Hepher
April 20 (Reuters) – Senior British politicians and royals
might consider making foreign visits in converted air force
refuelling jets after a row over the use of a rented Boeing for
a trade mission to tout European-made Airbus planes.
Britain’s aerospace industry lobby group said proposals were
being drawn up by the industry that could allow Prime Minister
David Cameron and even Queen Elizabeth to use modified Airbus
jetliners that double as refuelling planes.
The proposals follow a British media storm after Cameron led
a business delegation to Indonesia in a chartered Boeing 747 to
oversee the sale of jetliners worth $2.5 billion supplied by
Boeing’s European arch-rival Airbus.
Robin Southwell, head of the UK aerospace industry’s
lobbying association and also head of Airbus parent EADS in
Britain, said he would propose the alternative use of the Royal
Air Force jets when not needed for refuelling missions.
He compared the choice of airliner for Indonesia to a luxury
car salesman turning up in a used Jaguar.
“If you are trying to sell a new Aston Martin to someone and
you turn up in a used Jag and say the Aston Martin is the best
thing since sliced bread and then drive off in the Jag, it isn’t
as smart as turning up in the model you tried to sell.”
The RAF is leasing 14 Airbus-built Voyager jets which can
refuel fighters or carry troops or medical evacuees in a normal
cabin. When not needed they can be chartered out and the wing
pods removed, leaving a normal-looking jetliner in RAF colours.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the government always
considered various civil and military options when planning
travel depending on the size of the group, cost and security.
“If it meets our needs and doesn’t conflict with military
operations, we would of course look at it, but it is just one of
the options,” she said.
An EADS spokesman said the same option would be available to
Britain’s royal family, depending on requirements and protocol.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it was too speculative to
comment on whether the royal family would consider the plans.
Southwell said using the aircraft would not add any cost.
FIERCE COMPETITION
Cameron’s advisers usually charter British Airways or Virgin
Atlantic aircraft for foreign travel, but neither airline was
willing to give up a plane over the busy Easter holiday period.
Aides picked a 747 with the same instantly recognizable
silhouette as Air Force One flown by U.S. presidents —
including a recent Indonesian visit by Barack Obama to secure a
record Boeing order 9 times larger than Cameron’s Airbus deal.
Airbus and Boeing compete fiercely for aircraft sales worth
some $80 billion a year, often with the support of diplomatic
lobbying or intervention from government leaders.
The row over Cameron’s flight to Indonesia deepened when it
emerged that his plane, operated by U.S.-based Atlas Air, was
owned by Sonair, an Angolan carrier banned for safety reasons in
the European Union.
Britain has long agonised over whether to have a dedicated
aircraft for its leaders like Obama’s Air Force One or private
Airbus jets like those taken to summits by French and German
leaders.
After a series of gaffes, Cameron would have to be careful
of giving any impression that VIP trips were diverting resources
needed by the armed forces.
The RAF refuelling jets have themselves been dogged by
controversy since the Ministry of Defence agreed a 10.5 billion
pounds deal to lease the 14 modified Airbus A330 aircraft from
the EADS-led AirTanker consortium in 2008.
The defence ministry has acknowledged the planes had leakage
problems during test refuelling of Tornado jets and threatened
compensation claims in the event of delays or extra costs.
Southwell said some teething problems were inevitable, but
they were being dealt with and the jets were fit for their role.
