The Guadalajara Reporter

Govt flying high on hog

To avoid a fuel stop on the way to Europe, Mexico’s Department of Defense plans to replace current presidential  Boeing TP01 and TP02 jets, with a new, as-yet-unnamed aircraft, costing 757 million dollars.

That is more than twice the price of the U.S.’s Air Force One (325 million dollars). The cost of the new jet does include financing over 25 years. During his sexenio, President Felipe Calderon has flown to Europe on average every 2.5 months. The jets currently in use are about 25 years old and hold about 66 passengers each.

The world’s most expensive commercial aircraft can be bought at a pittance in comparison to the planned expenditure: a Boeing 737 is listed at 90 million dollars, but can be obtained for about 45 million; and a Boeing 777-300ER lists for 298 million but is on the market for as little as 150 million dollars.