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Irish Related Topics => Irish Air Corps => Topic started by: Silver on October 20, 2010, 10:48:51 pm

Title: Will / Should we sell a MATS jet ?
Post by: Silver on October 20, 2010, 10:48:51 pm
Now that we are in a full blown recession, will (or should?) we sell one of the MATS jets ?

IMHO, one of the jets should be sold.
Perhaps an argument could be made that we should even sell BOTH MATS jets?!

I believe by selling one of the jets we would -

A. send a message to world markets that we are serious about cost-cutting
B. we would save serious money by getting ministers to use commercial flights (as is the case in the UK and other EU countries)
C. we could use the proceeds of such a sale to purchase a joint CASA 235 MPA/Transport aircraft ...which is badly needed. (The new US Coastguard 'Casa 235's' are dual role MPA/Transport aircraft).

Remember too that the official "excuse" for purchasing the Learjet was our EU Presidency role in 2004(?)..i.e. the suggestion being that we would dispose of the Learjet after our 6-month EU presidency had ended.
And yet here we are 6 years later with TWO MATS jets still in operation?!!
 

Opinions?
Title: Re: Will / Should we sell a MATS jet ?
Post by: Irish251 on October 20, 2010, 11:39:07 pm
The kind of message that needs to be spent about cost-cutting will not be achieved by gestures such as you suggest.  If you look at the measures announced yesterday and today by the British Government, you see the scale of action that is required to even begin to convince the world that a government is serious about sorting out its fiscal problems.

You talk about saving money (amount unspecified) and then say that it should be used to purchase another CASA 235, so will that save money or cost more?   ??? You are right that the Learjet was said to be only a short-term acquisition but at that time the Beech 200 was still in service.  It has since been withdrawn and in truth the Lear is probably a better fit all round for the European flights that make up the bulk of the MATS operations. 

Ireland is still not that well connected to many European destinations and successive Governments of all parties have maintained the MATS capability since the late 1970s.  I can't see that changing, even if there is a change of Government in the next year or two.  Given that the aircraft are already paid for, the amount to be saved is probably not enough to warrant doing away with the service.  Even if this was done, you would probably see ad hoc chartering of bizjet capacity instead to enable various ministerial and parliamentary business schedules to be met.
Title: Re: Will / Should we sell a MATS jet ?
Post by: Stanly on October 21, 2010, 10:42:31 am
In the current financial climate, who would be in the market for a clapped out Gulfy.............. :sleepy: