Flying high

When Queen Elizabeth visited Majorca back in 1988 she sailed into Palma in style aboard the royal yacht Britannia and left on a rather small royal jet. It was like arriving in a Rolls Royce and departing in a mini! Years later President Bill Clinton arrived on Air Force 1 (a Boeing 747 jumbo) and the Japanese Emperor had a similar aircraft which also parked up at Palma airport. The Spanish prime minister has his own official aircraft and so do the heads of state of many countries. But not Britain. When Queen Elizabeth or members of the British royal family visit Australia, New Zealand or even Canada they use aircraft belonging to the “home air forces” because the Royal Air Force doesn’t have a plane which is suitably fitted out. It is quite amazing. Prime Minister David Cameron crosses the Atlantic courtesy of British Airways, other world leaders have their own planes. But finally the Ministry of Defence has seen the light and decided that the British royal family and the British government will get their own plane which is capable of flying long distances. Not only is it rather good for Britain’s national prestige, it also saves money...because chartering a large section of a British Airways jet every time a the British royal family or government travel abroad must cost a small fortune. The RAF will be using one of its existing aircraft to provide Britain with a VIP plane. Sounds like a good deal to me.