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A new dawn for presidential aircraft market?

Some time ago, hidden electronic devices were found onboard the new People's Republic of China presidential B.757, generating two days of public interest but not much surprise. Some weeks later, at the Asian Aerospace 2002 air show in Singapore, with impeccable choice of time and place, Boeing announced a new focus on the replacement market for aging government transport and head-of-state airplanes. With the occasion, the US manufacturer released interesting statistical data regarding this peculiar element of air transport.

Evaluation of the world fleet indicates that some 200 government transport and head-of-state airplanes are in operation, and more than half are large airliner types. The recent study indicates that half of the world fleet is more than 20 years old and are candidates to be replaced in the next 10 years. Eighty percent of these aircraft were built by Boeing, assuring it a good market position in this very selective market. Further information in the study noted that nearly half of the world fleet is in Asia, with progressively smaller proportions in Europe, South America and Africa. Apparently, the Boeing report consider neither the domestic market (no foreseeable competition?), the Australia/Pacific area nor Canada. Nearly 25 percent of the fleet is more than 30 years old, with a slightly higher proportion aged between 20 and 30 years. Presumably the older airplanes are experiencing decreased reliability, higher maintenance and operational costs, and many fail to meet current environmental regulations.

From a different point of view, the market conditions, thirty years ago, that made possible the booming season for the presidential jetliners are somewhat different now. Today business jets like Gulfstream V and Global Express offer comparable luxurious interior, very long range capability and superior flexibility at lover cost. Besides, in the early seventies, the advent of wide-body airliners made many short-life narrow-bodies of the first jet generation redundant for first line operators, thus giving various governments access to their own low-cost "Air Force One". Today there is no generational leap in the airliner evolution.

Although, in this field, practical or economical considerations do not necessarily prevail, few nations need to move large diplomatic parties, long-range, more than two or three times a year and less are in the position to justify a wide-body aircraft sitting on the apron 300 days a year. On the other hand, the most renowned flying head-of-state in the world, probably because the Vatican has no airport, holds his impressive personal record using exclusively charter aircraft.

Lockheed VC-121B Constellation 48-614 operated by 125th ATS USAF, nicknamed "Columbine" by General Eisenhower ; it was his personal plane, beginning fifties. The aircraft is now preserved at Pima Air & Space Museum near Tucson, Arizona. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, March 2002)