New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been dealt a major blow after being stranded in Wellington.
The NZ PM may have to change his schedule as he was due to meet with Southeast Asian leaders in Melbourne.
Mr Luxon boarded a commercial flight and is now running behind schedule.
The personal plane for Mr Luxon, a Defence Force Boeing 757 aircraft, was identified to have a maintenance fault.
New Zealand correspondent Jack Nyhof joined Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic to discuss the “embarrassing” incident.
source
So there's only ONE RNZAF VIP aircraft? Please say it isn't so…
Wow, he has a personal plane, PM is payed very well indeed
maybe the raaf can sell him our old 737-bbj's seeing they are being replaced or maybe they need to lease 2 new 737 bbjs
So? They should all be taking commercial flights.
Gee the sacrifices these politicians make is mind-boggling, imagine travelling with the plebs who pay his wages.
Hope he got a middle seat near the rear toilets!
What's up with those 757 planes? I've never heard of Donald Trump's 757 having a tech issue & not being able to fly. Is the RNZAF short of staff to properly maintain them or is it a lack of $$ to maintain them? No wonder Luxon said he didn't want to fly on them. With some of the Boeing aircraft such as the 777 and 787 having dispatch reliability figures of well over 99% it makes you wonder what the dispatch reliability of the two RNZAF planes are. Dispatch reliability for the airlines means a plane leaving on time or within 15 minutes of the scheduled time in terms of technical reasons.
Oh boo hoo
Javier Milei, Argentina's new president flies commercially and I say good on him. I think more world leaders should. Here is a video of him talking to his people on a commercial flight home to Argentina. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKLOTuN-Cdc&t=93s
Just make him travel with the peasantry in economy class on one of his Air NZ sky wakas. Then they won't have to make school kids go without lunches.
So you think it would have been better the RNZAF flew the aircraft with a significant maintenance issue? I mean it isn't like something could go wrong and kill everyone on board in a fiery crash……
The current 757's were bought when the aircraft were being sold off at very affordable 2nd hand prices, because of the downturn in aircraft sales after 9/11.
The 727B aircraft they were replacing were bought second hand too, and though they were good aircraft, were getting unreliable and near used by date. There was some compatibility between these aircraft types,in that main fuselage infrastructure was the same as the 727 .. therefore things would fit into a 757 if they didn't need them in the 727B. Seating, cabin fittings etc and cargo rails for example.
The 757 is a brilliant aircraft and needs attention.
BUT the PM should travel commercial whenever possible. The defence force aircraft need to be used for purpose, not egocentric shit by one term PM's.
doesn't need 50mil to fix
Luxon upon hearing he had to travel commercially, was heard to say, "What an atrocity! I'm PM and they only had business class – so I decided not to go."
God, doesn't it make your heart bleed? Maybe he could hire a plane with the $52.000 he was taking off us tax payers, what an absolute disgrace of a man, he should be bloody ashamed of himself.
NZ: are we late, yeaaaah naahhhh 🤣🤣
Might be Karma, His Self Image taken a blow, oh no PM did that with his statement he is entitled to NZ taxpayer's money while acting like a overlord towards people of NZ
I think, the next meeting he will be travelling with a canoe.😅 not the right person for pm. He’s not a fast learner 😮
This guy is gonna be removed from Parliament and every law. He puts in we the people have the power to change what ever he does. But people need to start standing up before he destroys our country under the wef
Funny at Ardmore ,Kiwis can resurrect an airworthy Mosquito out of a rotten wreck and two renovated R/R Merlin’s from Flores,California.And yet RNZAF maintenance facilities can’t effectively keep a relatively modern jet airframe in the sky?The world has an adequate supply of new parts and second hand parked up in the desert ,it can be assumed.Maybe this aircraft should be serviced in Malaysia?
Singapore PM and Cabinet Ministers always fly commercial SINGAPORE AIRLINES, they do not have a plane for such purpose.
Why cant he fly commercial like everyone who pays tax and pays for his travel.
If h e needs a flock of flunkys with him they should fly cattle class like the rest of us.
A bloody great 757 only satisfies politions egos.
I would allow him business class on commercial … way cheaper than a whole plane
What a clown fuck he his hard to like