Defence Business: View from Canberra | ADM Aug 08

1 August 2008

One of the more alluring experiences for a reporter of the nation's political affairs is to travel aboard the RAAF's VIP aircraft. But the trips do have their ups and downs due to aircraft type.
A Special Correspondent

At its most exulted level, and especially on international visits, VIP travel in the company of the great and powerful is akin to receiving royal treatment - lounge chair comfort, ample food and drink and fawning officials to whisk you through the tiresome formalities of arrival and departure.

On some sectors, such as Sydney into Canberra after the VIP had been dropped off, travelling journalists and remaining staffers had the aircraft to themselves, along with the freedom to try out the prime ministerial suite, play with the swivel chairs and of course sample the official liquor supply.

Not that too many restrictions were ever placed on the booze - in years gone by on some long flights home after officials duties were done, the liquor flowed freely indeed, such that a complete resupply was needed on touchdown.

VIP aircraft are always politically contentious.

Even when government and opposition are in complete agreement on the need for VIP aircraft, there's peril, for the public will quickly interpret this as politicians simply looking out for their own very expensive perks.

Former Prime Minister John Howard was constantly criticised for the costs of living in Sydney and travelling by VIP to Canberra - reportedly $600,000 in 2006 alone.

Opposition fingers ran hot on their calculators when defence released the six-monthly schedule of special purpose flights which details each and every VIP flight, who was aboard and what it cost.

The final year of the Keating government was marked by an increasingly rancorous row over use of VIP aircraft.

The opposition slammed Keating’s repeated calls for better aircraft intent on highlighting every imperial pretension.

The low point came in January 1996 when two Boeing 707s developed problems and Keating only made it to meetings in Kuala Lumpur after hitching a ride aboard a Falcon executive jet owned by Darwin pearl magnate Nick Paspaley.

At that time the VIP fleet comprised two RAAF Boeing 707s - capacious and long legged but thirsty and noisy - plus five smaller Dassault Falcon, used mainly for domestic travel.

In 1998, the then coalition government decided to update the fleet, acquiring a pair of Boeing 737 business jets (BBJs) and three new Bombardier Challenger 604 business jets.

All arrived in the second half of 2002.

In June 2000 - well before the new aircraft arrived - the much travelled deputy prime minister and trade minister Tim Fischer made a fair point about the perils of VIPs travelling in old aircraft.

"To put it bluntly, the cost of a stack of military and state funerals would be far more than purchasing, leasing or chartering 737s or modern 757s, or even 767s where required," he said.

As it turned, this came true, although not how he predicted but in a manner which in hindsight was sadly all too predictable.

That occurred in Indonesia in March 2007 when a Garuda airline crashed on landing at Yogyakarta airport, killing 21 passengers including five Australians - a journalist, two federal police officers, a diplomat and an AusAid officer.

Grievously injured was Sydney Morning Herald journalist Cynthia Banham.

All were travelling to Yogyakarta for a meeting on counter-terrorism to be attended by then foreign minister Alexander Downer.

That prompted an outcry from media organisations concerned that their staff were being more and more obliged to risk travel to official events on dodgy third world airlines while the minister and staff travelled in RAAF-assured safety.

In one memorable evening, a senior Fairfax journalist harangued Boeing Australia boss Craig Saddler to use this opportunity to make a pitch to the government to buy bigger airplanes.

That view has support at the highest levels.

Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told the recent Senate estimates committee hearing the 737s were too small for the job.

"There is probably a requirement to have a bigger aeroplane.

At some stage the Australian government needs to have a look at a larger aeroplane," he said.

"It would probably make a lot of sense to do that sooner rather than later after the tragedy that befell us as a nation last year."

The current lease deal for the BBJs and Challengers runs to 2014 and right now there's no plan for alternative aircraft.

The problem is that a BBJ, as currently configured, can carry around 30 - enough for a prime ministerial entourage and a few extras but not for the full media pack such as followed the PM in his recent international travels.

There are a couple of possibilities.

The media can travel commercially, regarded with fear and loathing because of the immense logistical challenges of keeping up with a fast moving PM with multiple engagements in different cities.

Most recently, the reptiles tagged Rudd in a separate BBJ, better but not a perfect solution.

This doesn't come cheap with media organisations billed $12,000 for each of 21 travelling journalists.

As a postscript, politician travel isn't always comfortable or pleasant.

In one memorable experience in 1993 your correspondent accompanied members of a parliamentary committee to review the activities of Australian troops in Somalia.

Sector one was by VIP Falcon into Port Hedland and very agreeable it was too.

The rest of the way was to be aboard RAAF C-130, not specially comfortable but bearable.

Alas, the RAAF crew announced on departure that their heating was busted, with the only options being full-on or turned off completely.

Having flown across the country in sauna-like conditions, they were firmly of the opinion that it was better turned off.

This was bearable for the shorter hops across the Indian Ocean. But for the final leg, the crew opted to fly non-stop from Cocos into Richmond - 12 hours in the air with the getting progressively colder.

Ice formed on the inside of the windows, the crew hopped around inside sleeping bags and politicians, journalists and passengers - one a hapless soldier being sent home after being caught smoking a joint while on leave in Mombasa - froze equally.

This flight earned a dishonourable mention in Hansard.

Editor’s note: The RAAF is to convert two of its five new Airbus A-330 tanker planes to VIP aircraft.

Industry sources put the cost of converting the planes at about $25 million an aircraft.

This would include installing a bedroom, office and bathroom suite, a first-class cabin for senior staff and a business class cabin for the media.

The five Airbus aircraft are being bought under a $1.8 billion contract that includes Qantas maintenance support.