The PM’s memory continued to fail him this morning on radio when he forgot that his office had spent $100,000 increasing the baggage space on one of his Boeing BBJ jets.

However, he then criticised the media for reporting what he had forgotten while News, Fairfax and others had demanded he get a bigger jet so that all reporters could fly with him on overseas trips. This has been an issue for the media since the Yogyakarta Garuda crash in March that killed one journalist and crippled another who couldn’t fit on a VIP jet carrying Alexander Downer.

This spat over cramming more ministerial luggage in a corporate version of a 737 that copes with over 140 ordinary Australians for Virgin Blue 300 times each day comes after the ABC’s 7.30 Report discovered that the ADF charter of a Portuguese airliner through an Australian middle man raised questions of safety oversights.

It is surprising Howard hasn’t actually spent more on his BBJs.

He personally intervened in the original specifications, insisting the aircraft not be luxuriously outfitted to avoid being seen as a waste of taxpayer money.

The result was two of the most uncomfortable BBJs ever delivered. Only a jockey-sized PM could ever sleep comfortably in the old fashioned reclining chairs in the private office near the front of the cabin. The media and public servant seats on the jets struggle to reach the premium economy standards of a Star Class seat on a Jetstar A330, although in the case of the PM’s flight, there is real food.

But A330s might be the answer. The RAAF is about to deploy the first of five A330 MRTTs, or multi role tanker transports ordered to replace the ancient 707s that once doubled as a PM’s VIP jet. An extra A330 could replace the BBJ for international missions, fly much further than the current smaller jet, and provide enough space for a full entourage of staff and media.

And even make room for a PM to sleep flat out.

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