President to rent a new jumbo jet
Published: 28 Aug. 2009, 07:34
The government plans to rent a Boeing 747 aircraft as its presidential jet for a five-year period starting next year, replacing an older model of more than two decades, defense sources told the JoongAng Ilbo.
According to members of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, the Ministry of National Defense has informed the committee that it plans to allocate 115.7 billion won ($92.7 million) from August 2010 to August 2014 to rent the Boeing craft over that period.
The cost includes fees to train pilots, sources added. The plan had been submitted to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
A source from the defense committee said the jet will be “relatively new, something that has been in use at Korean Air or Asiana Airlines,” referring to Korea’s two major carriers.
The government has used a Boeing 737 as the presidential aircraft since 1985 but the committee source said the plane “will be ushered out some time next year.”
Other sources also said the current presidential jet has grown outdated even for short domestic flights.
The single-aisle 737 sat 40 passengers, while the wide-body, twin-aisle 747 sits between 300 to more than 500, depending on its variant. The 747 is often called a jumbo jet. According to the Boeing, the 747 was the world’s biggest airliner from its introduction in 1970 until 2007, when Airbus unveiled the A380.
The Defense Ministry explained that renting a plane over a certain period of time is more cost-effective than chartering a plane for each presidential trip overseas, committee sources said.
The government previously attempted to rent a presidential jet in 2006 and 2008, but met with strong opposition from political parties each time.
In 2006, during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, a proposal to allocate 30 billion won to start working on replacing the old presidential plane was shot down, as the Grand National Party, then the main opposition, resisted the plan, citing the sluggish economy.
Then last year, with President Lee Myung-bak in office, a 14 billion won proposal was made for the same purpose, but it was opposed by both the ruling GNP and the opposition Democratic Party, also for economic reasons.
By Kang Chan-ho [[email protected]]
According to members of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, the Ministry of National Defense has informed the committee that it plans to allocate 115.7 billion won ($92.7 million) from August 2010 to August 2014 to rent the Boeing craft over that period.
The cost includes fees to train pilots, sources added. The plan had been submitted to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
A source from the defense committee said the jet will be “relatively new, something that has been in use at Korean Air or Asiana Airlines,” referring to Korea’s two major carriers.
The government has used a Boeing 737 as the presidential aircraft since 1985 but the committee source said the plane “will be ushered out some time next year.”
Other sources also said the current presidential jet has grown outdated even for short domestic flights.
The single-aisle 737 sat 40 passengers, while the wide-body, twin-aisle 747 sits between 300 to more than 500, depending on its variant. The 747 is often called a jumbo jet. According to the Boeing, the 747 was the world’s biggest airliner from its introduction in 1970 until 2007, when Airbus unveiled the A380.
The Defense Ministry explained that renting a plane over a certain period of time is more cost-effective than chartering a plane for each presidential trip overseas, committee sources said.
The government previously attempted to rent a presidential jet in 2006 and 2008, but met with strong opposition from political parties each time.
In 2006, during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, a proposal to allocate 30 billion won to start working on replacing the old presidential plane was shot down, as the Grand National Party, then the main opposition, resisted the plan, citing the sluggish economy.
Then last year, with President Lee Myung-bak in office, a 14 billion won proposal was made for the same purpose, but it was opposed by both the ruling GNP and the opposition Democratic Party, also for economic reasons.
By Kang Chan-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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