Used plane is favorite option to replace Aerolula – 05/06/2023 – Politics

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) asked to change planes, thus retiring the model he bought in his first term, in 2005. He has already been to nine countries in six months in office, and foresees at least seven more trips this year.

It is yet another announced end of Aerolula’s career, the executive Airbus ACJ319 employed by the mandates since then. On two other occasions, in the governments of Dilma Rousseff (PT) and Michel Temer (MDB), the change ended up not happening for different reasons.

Now, however, it looks like it will. Lula ordered the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) to present options for replacement, and asked for a larger plane with more autonomy. The military have a preferred plan to buy a used aircraft with VIP configuration.

Eyes fall on the executive version of the Airbus A330. Although a zero kilometer plane can cost more than US$ 250 million (R$ 1.23 billion), underneath, a used aircraft can come out significantly cheaper —perhaps less than US$ 40 million (almost R$ 200 million), depending on the bargain.

In addition, the model has commonality with the two A330s purchased by the FAB last year for US$ 80 million (R$ 393 million) from Azul, which are still waiting for the final conversion to be transformed into aerial refueling aircraft.

They are FAB’s plan B for Lula’s request, discussed at the meeting the president had with the Air Force High Command last Wednesday (31), as revealed by UOL. In this case, one of the planes would have to be completely reconfigured, a process that has not yet been priced, but which the military is displeased with.

This is because the installation of a suite with shower, meeting room and the model’s entire communication and internet system would leave it on the ground for up to two months, and the FAB has frequently used both A330s on missions.

Planalto says that there is no decision on the new plane, but denied that the subject was the subject of Lula’s meeting with the brigadiers, which is not true according to those present at the meeting.

The purchase of the A330s was not without controversy, given that it occurred at the same time that the Force reduced its order for Embraer KC-390 transport and refueling aircraft, from 28 to 19 units. The then FAB command claimed that the missions of the aircraft are different, given the size and autonomy of the A330.

This is the core of the complaints with Aerolula since its purchase. The new ACJ319, purchased for US$ 56.5 million at the time (US$ 88 million in deflated values ​​today, or R$ 433 million), is fully equipped for a comfortable trip for up to 39 passengers —but has a range limited to 8,500 km .

With that, every trip to more distant destinations in Europe requires a stop, in Cape Verde or Portugal. More distant missions necessarily require two stopovers, as was the case with Lula’s trips to China and Japan.

Lula complained of fatigue, as did the first lady, Janja da Silva. The A330 in the FAB’s current configuration flies up to 12,500 km, and a VIP A330-200 model reaches 13,300 km. This gives you autonomy for non-stop, one-stop intercontinental travel to faraway destinations in Asia or Oceania.

The PT seems willing, according to military personnel familiar with the conversations, to absorb the political burden of the acquisition, even in the midst of the debate on the austerity of government spending. That was what overturned the purchase, in the form of a mixed-use military and VIP aircraft, by Dilma — a process initiated by Lula when the PT candidate was elected, in 2010, but aborted.

In Temer’s case, the fact that the transport plane offered to him, a Boeing-767 rented for three years in 2017, did not have the amenities of Aerolula, weighed heavily.

One way or another, the new presidential plane will necessarily entail higher operating expenses. While the average consumption of Aerolula is 2,800 kg of fuel per hour, the value almost doubles with the A330 – considering very rudimentary estimates, since each flight follows different parameters.

In 2005, Lula was also criticized for not buying Brazilian models from Embraer, responding then that they had low autonomy —two E-190s are used on domestic flights or in Latin America. Ironically, that is Aerolula’s epitaph now.

Presidential planes are always the subject of controversy, as the sale of the Boeing-787 by the Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador shows. Their defense is more or less obvious: heads of state need privacy and additional security when traveling. At the end of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) government, the option of eventually renting aircraft per flight was put on the table, but considered uneconomical and impractical by the military.

Until the introduction of Aerolula, the main planes were the so-called junkyards, 707 models from 1968 converted for use by authorities in 1986. Noisy and drunk, they were the subject of a diplomatic joke and, in 1999, one of them almost caused an accident with then vice-president Marco Maciel on board.

The transport of authorities is the responsibility of the FAB Special Transport Group, which operates the ACJ319, the two E-190s and at least six smaller Embraer models (ERJ-145, ERJ-135 and Legacy 600), in addition to helicopters.