Help Please; Is that Mitt's Jet in the background?

[Botany]

It looks like a Boeing 737 .... $50,000,000 per jet (used)
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/prices/

If anybody knows what kind of jet it is, the cost of the plane, and how much does it cost
per hour to keep in that kind of jet in the air I would be most thankful.

[malaise]

1. Oh great - I asked about this photo on another thread

What a scumbag

[HopeHoops]

2. Which ONE? I thought he had a few of them.

[FSogol]

3. It is kept in the air by Mitt's blustery condescension of the lower classes.

When he flip flops, it comes in for a landing. HTH.

[JJW]

4. Stop being envious

and let Willard enjoy his shoeshine. Is that Obama?

[gateley]

6. Bwahahahahaha!

[gateley]

5. I can't find anything about him owning a private plane, Botany --

in fact I found an interesting article about how despite his wealth, he's thrifty in a lot of ways. It mentions he tries to get cheap flights on Jet Blue -- or at least he did before this presidential run. I think a many candidates charter jets, but I haven't even found mention of that.

This looks like a shot staged for investors, maybe? "Invest with us and you, too, can be this wealthy" kind of message???
Do you know the story behind it?

[Botany]

9. I think the picture comes Newt's anti-Romney film

Even if he charters that Jet it has to cost more than $12.35 per hour to
keep it in the air.

[gateley]

14. Yes, and I'm not saying he doesn't charter it -- but I'd doubt he'd have a pic

like that taken if he was using it for his campaign, especially with all the brouhaha about his wealth and being out of touch with the majority of Americans.

My GUESS is that it was an ad for Bain Capital, but of course that's just a guess.

[Cannikin]

7. Tis most definitely a 737. Give me a few minutes

I'm a member of several aviation forums. I'll have this planes info down to the day it rolled off the line in a bit.

[Botany]

11. thanx

Mitt might have chartered it but I can't find out how much is the average cost per hour
to keep it in the air. The best information I can find is that the base cost of keeping
a 737 in the air is >$1,200 per hour.

[MineralMan]

8. I don't know. But, I guarantee

that both candidates for the Presidency are going to be flying around in jets a lot over the next 10 months. If Romney is the GOP candidate, he'll charter a jet with his campaign funds. The President will travel on Air Force One, with the campaign paying the equivalent of a charter for the same trip.

I don't think Romney owns a plane. Charter services are happy to oblige anyone who can pay.

This is not going to work as an attack point against Romney. You can bet that the Republicans will be making a similar point about Air Force One. It happens in every election.

[Botany]

12. that picture is prior to his 2012 run for President

because no aid or handler would allow a candidate to have his picture taken
having his shoes shined in front of private jet.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. If it's "his," he almost certainly leased or chartered it.

People usually don't buy large airplanes like 737s; they almost always lease them. But that isn't cheap, either. If there's a photo somewhere that shows the airplane's tail number you can do a search in the FAA's database, here: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Inquiry.aspx This will show the owner, but the owner will be a corporate entity and definitely not Mitt individually.

I seem to recall that Obama chartered a 757 for his 2008 campaign. That's SOP for presidential campaigns these days.

[2QT2BSTR8]

13. The plane shown...

The plane shown has the markings of DirectAir. "Direct Air is an indirect air carrier providing public charter air flights".

The rear tail also shows the markings of XtraAirways. The XA fleet is comprised of Boeing 737-400 and Boeing 737-800 (Seasonal) craft.

The link below shows a larger and much clearer shot. Scroll all the way to the bottom.

[link:http://www.etoday.ru/2008/02/us-primaries-supertuesday.php|

[Botany]

15. thank you

awesome picture

[gateley]

17. The photos at that link are from the 2008 campaign - or they just used it if it wasn't. Regardless,

as you noted, no one would have such a photo taken for campaign purposes so I wonder what the story behind it is.

[Cannikin]

16. Most definitely a -400. Older model. Less efficient

As far as cost per hour, that will vary greatly depending on how full the flight is. I'll keep digging for figures.


You may also enjoy these links:


Romney flight in a Fairchild Dornier 328
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UJC25/history/20111216/1610Z/KSUX/KGSP

Ron Paul in a Cessna Citation III and a Lear 60
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N94GH
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N160BP

[riverwalker]

18. found article

from 2007, don't know if it's helpful or not.

On the Road: Flying Romney Air

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/on-the-road-flying-romney-air/

Romney's new press plane

[Cannikin]

19. Man...packing the press and all their gear in an ERJ...they must hate him.

n/t

[Cannikin]

20. Here are some 2010 figures:

Operating costs per hour for the 737-400

Fuel consumption: 3051.0 Liters
Cost of fuel: $1051.82 (based on 2010 fuel prices)
Other costs: $3,144.28

Total: $4,196.10

[Botany]

21. $4,200 per hour

Thanx!

But is the cost of the owner of the airline? And if so what would a charter
company charge?

[Cannikin]

22. I would have to assume they'd charge a percentage over the cost in order to turn a profit, but...

Last edited Thu Jan 12, 2012, 02:22 PM - Edit history (3)

I'm afraid I have no real knowledge of charter ops, so I can't say with any certainty.

Update:

His current plane (from what I can tell) is a Miami Air 737-800 (more efficient than the -400) named "Diane", but has been nicknamed "Hair Force One". The -800 costs around $2,952.19 per hour to operate. Not sure what they're charging him though!