Let's get the PM a plane

I'll probably get shot down for saying this, but here goes anyway: The prime minister of New Zealand should have his or her own plane.

Well, of course it would be owned by the taxpayer not the prime minister, and it would be available for visiting VIPs and the leader of the opposition as well, but there should be a dedicated aircraft for the leader of this country to use to ferry him or her around.

You're probably thinking he's just saying that because he's sitting at Bangkok Airport for an interminable length of time waiting for a commercial flight to New Zealand when he'd rather be sitting on a private jet, and of course you're right - I would.

But sometimes I think the Kiwi obsession with Jack being every bit as good as his master just goes a little bit too far. I mean, I'm all for the egalitarian ethic and everything, and I don't agree with the need for our prime minister to use motorcades in New Zealand and I think it's great that in our country no one is going to shove you out of the way or point a gun at you just because some VIP happens to be walking down the same street.

However, things have got to the point where - and I am not making this up - to the best of my knowledge, no country in the world outside the South Pacific now does not have a personal aircraft for its leader. Please correct me, anyone, if you can think of anywhere.

Even the tinpot breakaway former Soviet states that all seem to end in -stan have their own planes. The prime minister of Malta has his own plane, for goodness' sake. Why is it that we insist on our leader flying commercial?

Not only that, but there's a lot of huffing and puffing if they even dare fly first class instead of business. It's a sad fact that there are many Kiwis who reckon the PM should fly economy, and take a shuttle from the airport when they get there.

It's not actually a matter of keeping up with the Joneses - although I admit it must be a trifle embarrassing when you turn up at the South Pacific Forum or the East Asia Summit and your prime minister is the only one who's on a commerical flight.

No. It's just that flying commercial doesn't make sense any more.

Time was when the PM only made a few trips each year, and you could argue owning an aircraft just wasn't economic. But the sheer plethora of international engagements now in the calendar - the regular meetings like Apec, CHOGM, the Forum, the EAS, plus all the bilateral visits that leaders are now expected to make - means that prime ministers are spending a lot more time travelling than they ever did before.

Now assuming we think the PM's time is reasonably valuable, what's the price of having him or her sitting around waiting at airports for hours for connecting flights, or not going anywhere if they're delayed?

Also, depending on where they are going, there are often two or three legs involved plus a long car journey whereas other leaders simply jet in to the nearest airport, whether it's military or civilian.

I know, I know, we've got two perfectly good Boeing 757 planes run by the airforce, and indeed Key is taking one of those to CHOGM next month. But it seats over 130 people, and given its size it is simply not economic to run regularly with just the PM's staff and a few media hacks aboard.

No, what's needed is a specially modified 737 like Kevin Rudd's got, with additional fuel tanks so it can fly long range. And the beauty of it is that the current global financial crisis has caused a glut of aircraft, meaning they're practically giving away second-hand aircraft. I can't believe that the annual cost of maintaining and operating a 737 would be seriously beyond our means. The airforce could fly it, so there'd be no need to hire pilots.

I don't see any reason why the PM would need it to fly between Auckland and Wellington every day, but it could also be used for some domestic trips. Visiting dignitaries could use it, and I can't see why Phil Goff couldn't use it if he was overseas on official business. NOT Chris Carter though - he'd wear it out.

I wonder whether we're ready for this debate? Last time it was raised - when Helen Clark was trying to get to a rugby match on time and ended up being caught speeding, and later opined it would be much easier if she had a plane - we all gleefully ran pictures of Learjets fitted out with luxury gear and rubbed her nose in it for even bringing it up.

Seriously, isn't it time we grew up? We're a developed, first world nation that wants to be taken seriously on the world stage. The travel demands on the PM are only going to intensify, and time pressures only get more critical.

John Key will be nervous about suggesting it, because he knows the hue and cry that will accompany such an idea. But hey, he's so far ahead in the polls he could afford to burn a few points, surely? I reckon Labour would be on board, given they will be the government one day too.

Has the time come for Key Air? I think it has, and I reckon the PM should ask his office for a feasibility study on the costs and the pros and cons.

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