The A310's from the Belgian government were intensively used frames bought second hand in 1997 from Singapore Airlines. They shouldn't have bought the A310's back then in the first place (At least not without a decent check of both planes). Both planes were 12 years old and intensive used by SQ. But at least we a flewn with both frames for an additional 12 years.
The A310's that German and France currently are using are also frames previously owned by multiple airlines. In fact, it seems that the Belgian government had bought second hand planes only pre-owned by 1 owner (SQ) while the frames owned by the French and German government had multiple owners before entering the German or French fleets
The replacement for the two VIP A310s of the German Luftwaffe has already been ordered. Two 'second-hand' A340-300 from Lufthansa have been bought by the German government. They are being refitted with VIP cabin interior, conference rooms, sleeping area, 140 seats, anti-missile defence, etcetera. They should enter into service with Luftwaffe in August 2010 and in November 2011.
In addition German Luftwaffe has ordered two (brand new?) A319CJ (first to enter in service in spring 2010) and four (?) 'Global 5000' Jets to replace the very ageing fleet of Challenger planes currently being used for European VIP flights.
The five A310s of Luftwaffe which are being used to transport soldiers and cargo or as flying hospitals will stay in service for the time being as far as I am aware ...
The Air component of the Belgian Defence is becoming Belgian Air Force again. And the marine component will become the Belgian Navy, as well as the land component will become land forces. Back to normal!
sn26567 wrote:The Air component of the Belgian Defence is becoming Belgian Air Force again. And the marine component will become the Belgian Navy, as well as the land component will become land forces. Back to normal!
Thanks for the answer, indeed it seems back to normal!
Het toestel moet voor het Belgische leger jaarlijks 2.000 uren vliegen. De bemanning wordt door Defensie geleverd. Het leasingcontract kost 12 miljoen euro per jaar.
Het toestel moet voor het Belgische leger jaarlijks 2.000 uren vliegen. De bemanning wordt door Defensie geleverd. Het leasingcontract kost 12 miljoen euro per jaar.
= € 6.000 per hour DRY
(translated: lease contract stipulates 2.000 hours/year, contract is 12,000,000 Euro/year, crew from Belgian Army, thus dry lease of 6.000 Euro/hour)
It's not only the Belgian Army which uses the A330: also the government will use it for missions abroad. And the Royal family will use it for their holidays. I haven't mentionned 'annual holiday', because they take more then a few holidays per year.
What is the fuss all about... aircraft are a little more complex than a car and go tech, full stop. Achieving a dispatch reliability of 100% is simply not possible.
Looks like the press (and some of the "experts" commenting on the issue) had nothing else to moan about...
LX-LGX wrote:It's not only the Belgian Army which uses the A330: also the government will use it for missions abroad. And the Royal family will use it for their holidays. I haven't mentionned 'annual holiday', because they take more then a few holidays per year.
Why ..... Crembo Airlines make special offer to Luchtzak members with happy ending
EBBR_Based wrote:Looks like the press (and some of the "experts" commenting on the issue) had nothing else to moan about...
Bwah yes. For some, any reason is good for politically-driven accusations. Others still live in the 19th century, dreaming of our "grandeur" and national prestige - same guys that wanted to endlessly pump tax money into Sabena.