How’s this for a raffle prize?
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced plans to give away the country’s presidential jet: a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. (The aircraft is Mexico’s version of the United States’ Air Force One planes.)
In an effort to curb spending, President Lopez Obrador insists on flying commercially instead of taking the country’s tricked out plane.
The President has tried to offload the jet because, as the New York Post‘s Jorge Fitz-Gibbon writes, “He said the money from the sale of the presidential aircraft could be put to better use helping the country’s poor.”
He tried selling it Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who turned down the offer because “he too thought it was more luxurious than he needed.”
NPR’s Carrie Kahn reports, “Soon after taking office in December 2018, López Obrador sent the plane to a hangar in Victorville, Calif., and searched for a buyer. But a year later, with maintenance costs mounting to more than $1 million, he brought the Dreamliner home to look for other alternatives.”
Raffle tickets will apparently be available to Mexican constituents for a price of 500 pesos each (almost $27).
Ms. Kahn says proceeds will “go toward medical equipment and hospitals offering free care for the poor.”
The raffle is scheduled for May 5 — which is, of course, Cinco de Mayo.
— Chris
Featured image: ©iStock.com/sezer ozger
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I have no use for a 787. If I were to win, I would become bankrupt by flying it once. The only way to avoid that would be to sell it. It’s possible that I wouldn’t be able to find a buyer even if I settled for $50M of a $125M plane that originally cost $250M (all figures are ballpark).
I say this because Peters in Germany is unable to sell its A380 that were returned on lease. I think they want $80M. They can get $20M if they scrap it for parts. Peter’s has connections and industry know how. Even if I wanted to scrap a winning 787, I wouldn’t know if I could get $5M. The company that scraps it might say “ok, we’ll give you $3M but you have to fly the plane to us or pay a $3M pick up charge”
The Museum of Flight in Seattle already has a 787. The National Air and Space Museum might not want the plane or might accept a donation of the plane but not pay for shipping.
In order to make it appealing, the raffle has to have at least one company who is willing to buy the plane and take delivery as is, where is.