New presidential jet to whet Sarkozy's soaring ambition
Rival to Obama's Air Force One due in October
Paris: Nicolas Sarkozy's dream of having a presidential jet to rival America's Air Force One is about to come true.
‘Air Sarko One', a £150 million (Dh861.5 million) Airbus A330-200, has made its first test flight in Bordeaux, south-western France. It is due for completion by October.
When fitted out, it will have a 12-man meeting room, 60 business class seats, top-grade encrypted communications systems, a reinforced fuselage and a missile decoy system. It will also have a bedroom, an air filter system to cope with the president's cigar smoke, and a shower.
A fleet of smaller jets will replace the current Falcon 50 and 900 models at ministers' disposal. They will include two Falcon 7Xs, models often favoured by the world's jet set.
Presidential air force officials have nicknamed one jet ‘Air Carla One' after the French leader's wife, former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Sarkozy is understood to have long envied the luxurious conditions on the Boeing 747-200B in which US counterpart Barack Obama flies across the world, and has complained that his two smaller Airbus A319s lacked the necessary presidential stature.
Edge in wingspan terms
‘Air Sarko One' as the plane has been dubbed, will have a wingspan two feet longer than the US model. It has been claimed that Sarkozy had wanted a full-sized presidential bathtub on board but he was informed that under heavy turbulence the bath water could overflow and seep into electronics.
Sarkozy's 176-million euro purchase and refit of the jet from Air Caraibes, a tourist airline, has raised eyebrows as the winds of austerity blow through Europe and other leaders are reining in their perks. David Cameron has made great play of his decision to travel on commercial flights as part of the British government's austerity drive.
Sarkozy has been criticised for preparing to take charge of a new presidential plane weeks after ordering ministers to cut spending.
There has also been a string of embarrassing expenses scandals. Earlier this month, Alain Joyandet, the secretary of state for overseas development, stood down amid reports that he had hired a private jet at a cost of 116,500 euros to fly to the Caribbean.
Christian Blanc, the state secretary for the Greater Paris region, was forced to resign after it emerged that he had spent 12,000 euros on Cuban cigars at the taxpayer's expense.
