If you’re a billionaire, it’s common to insist that your private jet is the biggest. For prime ministers, however, it seems politically more convenient to argue otherwise.
Such was the narrative that Boris Johnson met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a bilateral meeting on the first day of the G7 conference of the major industrialized nations in southern Germany.
The two had recently arrived on grueling night flights from a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda, and Johnson commented as the couple sat down to talk, shortly before reporters and television crews were introduced. .
“I saw Canada Force One: it’s a big plane,” Johnson continued, referring to Trudeau’s official plane, better known as Can Force One.
“It’s not as big as yours,” Trudeau replied, making a polite protest in response to his British counterpart. “No, ours is very, very modest,” Johnson insisted.
The truth is that both were correct, depending on how you calculate it. Trudeau’s official aircraft is an Airbus CC-150 Polaris, a Canadian military variant of the relatively old A310-300, a model in service for nearly four decades.
At 47 meters, it is 2 meters longer than the plane where Johnson arrived, but that is only part of the story.
Johnson’s official aircraft is a Voyager, an RAF aircraft that is used as an air-recharging tanker truck and is equipped for the use of VIP passengers. Based on the long-haul Airbus A330, it is just over 60 meters long.
However, the plane is also used for the royal family, which has priority, and Prince Charles was also at the Commonwealth summit, meaning the plane is still in Kigali.
Johnson has access to a rented jet, one painted the same way with the colors of the Union flag. This is another Airbus, an A321, which is only 45 meters long.
Trudeau, or at least a successor, could only invoke modesty for so long. Plans are being made to replace its official 30-year-old aircraft at a considerable cost, although it is expected to take some time.
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