Quote:
Originally posted by madmax
There are many other industries that are the same way. If the government was going to purchase mid-size or jumbo passanger jets they would have to buy from one of two companies, Boeing or Airbus. Boeing is a US company while Airbus is owned by the French and Germans. Boeing manufacturers the Airforce One. Does the government buy from Boeing because Dick Chaney used to work there is it because they are the only manufacturer?
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Just a minor correction that needs to be correctly addressed:
There is no such thing as 'the Air Force One.' 'Air Force One' is the call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. If on a Navy aircraft, it's 'Navy One', on an Army aircraft, 'Army One', and his personal helicopter that takes off from the south lawn of the White House is 'Marine One'. Should he board a civilian aircraft, it immediately becomes 'Executive One' for the duration of the flight. (The Vice President gets the call sign 'Air Force Two' and so on, but none of the lesser minions of the President's cabinet rates a special call sign.)
Two Boeing 747-200 aircraft (Air Force designation VC-25A) were built specifically as Presidential aircraft. Not only is it the 'flying White House' but it also has sophisticated communications systems aboard to provide command and control of the military.
Airbus is actually a consortium of European aerospace companies, of which the French, Germans and British have a substantial stake. At the time the presidential 747s were ordered in the mid-1980s, Airbus was a minor but growing player in the commercial aircraft arena.