Originally Posted by
KenJohn
Tony Blair did order 2 planes before leaving office. They were not scheduled for delivery until after he left office; and obviously not delivered yet.
Can't find any mention of the order since 2003- is it still happening?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2978756.stm
Wikipedia, thinks early 2008:
[edit] Future
The Labour government has consistently shown its support for a dedicated aircraft. The aircraft has been labelled Blair Force One by the media; a play on the existing United States equivalent, Air Force One, and the ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Proposals made in 1998 were subject to criticism, with the government proposals failing to tally with the requirements of the Royal family of Queen Elizabeth II, who would share the aircraft.[6]
The proposals were re-evaluated in 2003, when the UK parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee recommended two dedicated aircraft with secure, advanced communication equipment for the use of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence; the latter position was then held by Geoff Hoon, who supported the recommendation. Hoon added that the proposed £80 million budget was worthwhile given the then-estimated £5.6 million yearly cost of ministerial travel in the "shuttle diplomacy" era.[7]
In December 2004 Sir Peter Gershon was asked by the government to undertake a study regarding the future requirements of Royal and ministerial air travel. His report, published in June 2006, recommended that "the Government establishes a new VIP air service based on two dedicated fixed-wing aircraft for the provision of air travel for the Royal Family and senior Ministers" and that this should be acquired through "a competition... to allow the private sector to bid to provide [the service] to private sector standards and disciplines."[8]
The new aircraft will have communication facilities, the ability to carry press corps, and state of the art security systems. To reduce costs, the planes will not be purchased outright, but will be on permanent lease; the government estimates the cost at £12 million, claiming that it is comparable to the increased cost of Prime Ministerial travel (now £9.5 million yearly). The aircraft are proposed to be ready for service in early 2008.[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_tra...United_Kingdom