With the first Airbus A380 Superjumbo now (finally) in revenue service with Singapore Airlines and the continuing dispute between Europe and the US over subsidies for large commercial aircraft, the folks in Toulouse must have scratched their heads when the United States Air Force (USAF) Air Mobility Command (AMC) recently requested data on the A380 Freighter as a military transport, and – sacre bleu – options for a “VIP Large Aircraft Recapitalisation”or in military terms, VIPLAR.
According to a report in Flight International, this could include the replacement of the Air Force One, currently a B747-200, which is used by president George W. Bush for his worldwide travels.
With the report, Flight published an artist’s impression of how the presidential A380 would look like. Imagine Hillary Clinton, or another presidential hopeful, descending from the stairs of an A380! The guys in Seattle are reportedly not amused by what are described as AMC’s“ competitive procurements”.