Two new Royal Canadian Air Force transport planes will make prime ministerial travel less exclusive this summer.
Kuwait Airways sold the Air Force two secondhand A-330s last year.
Widebody jets will replace the RCAF’s 1980s-era Airbus A-310s, which carry military officers and the prime minister overseas.
The initial Airbus A-310 fleet, bought by the Mulroney administration in the early 1990s, is getting harder to maintain.
A-330s are bigger and have a greater range than A-310s.
The federal government claims it is preserving the aircraft’s seats the Kuwaitis purchased “for an interim period” to get the jets into service quickly, which leaves no place for the prime minister’s private cabin.
When CBC News enquired about the aircraft’s interior, the DND cited a LinkedIn post:
“These first two aircraft, originally manufactured in 2015, will retain their commercial cabin configuration for interim cargo, troop, and passenger airlift operations.”
The A-330’s official travel features will be different from the A-310’s.
Mobility-impaired travellers and those who must change into work clothes or protective gear before landing may appreciate its accessible washroom. For the first time, prime ministerial journalists will have power outlets and USB hookups at their chairs.
Air Canada and Air Transat have flown the Airbus A-330 since 1999. Business-class Canadians will recognize the plane’s interior.
Kuwait Airways’ planes had 17 first-class, 30 business-class, and 165 economy seats. Canadian airlines have denser seating.
DND officials said this month that Airbus 01, an Airbus A-310, will be one of the first two aircraft to arrive with the same red, white, and blue paint scheme as the prime minister’s present ride.
After Wardair merged with Canadian Airlines, Airbus 01 was sold as surplus.
The Canadian government gave the aircraft a VIP makeover with a railway-style cabin with a bed and a shower for official travel. In-flight briefings became popular with diner-style banquette tables.
UK, Australia, and France use the A-330 for high-level official travel.
France features a partitioned, high-end interior, whereas the UK has business class seats.
The RCAF seeks six A-330s in the next years. The federal government hasn’t verified buying the other four.
After a few years in service, DND will send the two aircraft being delivered this summer to Europe to be rebuilt into air tankers that carry people.
To expand CF-18 and future aircraft range, the RCAF requires in-flight refueling.
The A-310s had enormous cargo doors cut into the fuselages and strengthened cabin flooring to transport freight.
DND stated the new aircraft won’t need that.
The A330 has enough cargo room below the main deck to avoid loading freight on the deck. “This main deck space is reserved for passenger transport,” stated DND public relations manager Dan Lebouthillier.
Prime ministers and governors cannot fly commercially for security concerns. However, the PM’s plane has been political for decades.
After the military purchased the Airbus fleet in 1992 and the Mulroney administration spent $56 million to convert one jet into a VIP transport, then-Liberal leader Jean Chrétien called it a flying “Taj Mahal” and refused to fly in it as prime minister.
His successors, Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau, utilized the plane for most overseas trips.
Chretien eventually travelled with Harper, then the prime minister, on the VIP plane to Nelson Mandela’s burial in 2013.
