Airbus is preparing to offer incoming US president Barack Obama a special A380 superjumbo to replace the ageing Air Force One Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
Tom Enders, chief executive, said the US was already thinking about new aircraft for the presidential fleet and it was “not completely absurd” to consider the superjumbo as an alternative. It can carry as many as 840 passengers and is the European plane-maker’s flagship, with one sold to a Gulf sheikh.
But Enders said it was “much too early to speculate” and Airbus was concentrating on winning the re-run $40bn (£27bn) Pentagon contract for 179 air-to-air refuelling (tanker) aircraft against Boeing.
Airbus won the contract last year after one of the fiercest lobbying battles ever witnessed on Capitol Hill, but the Pentagon later revised the tender under congressional pressure. Enders said Airbus had won that contest fairly and intended to win again – provided it was on a level playing field…
The A380, which has won 198 orders from 16 customers, is the world’s biggest plane, but Airbus claims it is at least 25% more fuel-efficient than the venerable 747 and emits far fewer greenhouse gases – a key Obama preoccupation.
Enders really is a ballbuster with style.
#4: A 777 is smaller than a 747.
Nothing wrong with that…
Chances are with all those delays that the one who will enjoy that new presidential airplane is going to be the one who will win the 2012 Presidential election.
Caribou Barbie gets the new ride. Hope there’s enough seats for all the grandkids she’ll have by then.
What? He can’t just teleport himself like Jesus?
It would send a lot of wrong signals. It would also take much to long. Even if you buy American it might take a couple of years or more. Then the thing would need a very long run way and rather large hanger. It should make a really big target.
Air bus is a EU government project. They can get the military tech. The issue is some of it might not be what our people are used to. Not sure if that is an issue or not.
The current two 747s used as AF1 were ordered by Ronald Reagan, because he was such a pal of the aerospace industry. But Ronald never got to fly in them, as they weren’t ready until George Bush I took office. And only recently (Jan 7th) did USAF Materiel Command issue a new Sources Sought for a replacement aircraft to enter service by 2017. So whoever follows Obama, will be the one to enjoy a new set of AF1 planes. Probably another fat cat republican, as democrats rarely get two chances at the presidency, in succession. And the way the GOP is talking, it’ll be Jeb Bush’s planes. So why does this stupid blog item blame seem to imply Obama’s the recipient?
And BTW, the president who held the record for the most planes in service was Eisenhower, with four prop jobs and three 707 jets, later on. And this was the guy who warned us about the bad influence of the Military Industrial Complex. Well he should have known, eh?
It’s a question of national security. The airbus 380 is a fine passenger aircraft, but it’s not very robust. The size and weight paramaters pushed them into structural sacrifices and experimental materiales. Apart from that, needs to be done in US because of top secret technologies to be incorporated. The more I think about this the more it sounds like an unsubstantiated rumour. In other words – BULLSHIT!
What he NEEDS is a supersonic plane with room for no more than 50 passengers. Get things done fast.
Tighten that press corps down to the minimum, and send the rest by commercial jet paid for by their keepers.
Oh and the A380 isn’t selling like they were hoping, and with the crisis the whole project could fail hurting Airbus. In the unlikely event this should prosper it could save Airbus’s ass.
Paddy-o
Is there any posts in which you don’t pounce on someone for what they say?
How about you post something original instead of using Wikipedia to try and discredit someone…..
Last time I checked, you weren’t the leading voice on anything in the world
@36 dewoll…
Just to clarify one big misconception you Americans have:
EU is a community of INDEPENDENT states.
EU does not have A government. At least, not yet. There’s the EU commission and the EU parliament (there’s actually two parliaments…) and they create laws and vote on regulations to be trickled down into the member’s States Governments.
Of course, the commission’s role is to “construct” and unify Europe. Maybe the ultimate goal will be that Europe will become One Nation. But that’s IMHO is at least 100 to 150 years away.
So, Airbus IS NOT an EU government company.
#42
One clarification, airbus has recieved significant european subsidies… $15 Billion in launch aid and lot’s of infra structure and transportation aid since then. Why not? Still sounds better than using tax money to save failing private enterprise. Or is it the same thing? Guess time will tell.
Go Boeing buy American!! Plus in a plane like that made in Europe who knows what they can implant in the thousands of miles of cable and ect. they could rig that jet with all types of monitoring equipment or even remote self destruct mechinisims that would crash the plane. Its like the gifts we used to give the Russians and the Cubans here is something really nice but in reality its a trojan horse. We should support American business it would be like getting a Mercedes limo.
#41, jimbo,
Last time I checked, you weren’t the leading voice on anything in the world
I am so very sorry to disagree. Cow-Paddy is the world’s leading authority on the US Constitution, objects on Congresswoman McKinnon’s desk, Secretary of State’s Rice Office, the back room ins and outs in the Senate, Rent-A-Cop problems, criminal justice statistics, and Tampax Super Maxies as hemorrhoid relief. There are other areas of his expertise but we aren’t smart enough to recognize them.
He also knows a lot about Radio Shack’s inventory system and would like to work for Apple some day. He is a pretty smart guy! A genius in his own estimation and mirror.
The two 747s the Air Force uses for the President and V-P are both in top notch condition. They have the world’s best maintenance crew as well as they were built tough from day 1. Because of the trim, it can also land at more air strips that a regular 747. Even though it uses less fuel, it does cost more to operate due to the fewer miles and passengers.
It is also my understanding that all press passengers do have to pay to ride along on AF-1. Only the Prez, his family, staff, Cabinet and Agency heads, and guests ride for free. Even Senators, Congressmen, pay out of their own budget to ride along unless they are a guest of the Prez.
I doubt the Prez has much o say about the plane though. That is all Air Force decision.
For the record, the presidential 747’s started out life as standard Boeing commercial airframes. All the secret stuff was added after the fact. The same is happening on the new VH-71 presidential helicopters. All of that work is done in the USA under STRICT confidentiality rules.
But the base EH-101 helicopters that are purchased from AgustaWestland are off-the-line factory stock aircraft aside from some equipment deletions and a rear entry ladder (opposed to a loading ramp). All other presidential modifications are being handled in the States by Bell Helicopter and Lockheed-Martin as well as other American equipment vendors/suppliers.
Obama calls Chicago home. Boeing’s headquarters is in Chicago. The Air Force may have final say but no general would slap the president in the face by buying something other than Boeing.
Why the hostility?
Europe is not Iran ya know, they’re our allies. If we buy a few jets from them whats the big deal.
We should use the best plane available for an eventual future upgrade. If that plane is European, who cares? The fact that Airbus is subsidized doesn’t really fly anymore since the big three have been asking for a bailout….
# 47 Mark T. said, “For the record, the presidential 747’s started out life as standard Boeing commercial airframes. All the secret stuff was added after the fact.”
For the record, Boeing, as the manufacturer & military contractor did much of the “secret stuff”… Stuff that Airbus couldn’t do, and thus there will not be an Air Force one that is an Airbus.
I’ll start taking bets now. 2 to 1 odds.
I doubt that any American government would buy an Airbus as an represenational aircraft. A380 would be a bad pick, as it does require special airport setup – period. Other Airbus planes would probably fit the profile, and the top-secret-military-thingies could be sorted out (perhaps through an American-based subcontractor/customizer), but that changes nothing: an Airbus pick would be simply a sign that the USA no longer has the lead, and no American president would like to make such a statement. It would be like the German chancelor driving in a Cadilac or the French president flying in a Boeing – it just won’t happen.