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I wouldn't be sure that commercial flights save money. Ultimately the pilots of these planes need to fly the planes. Doing these missions is basically training and practice that would likely have happened anyway (depending on how much it's used).
But yeah, interesting how often this seems to happen.
I mean, they definitely would be cheaper if the clapped out dunger of a plane breaks down, and you need to fly commercial on the way back, meanwhile the air force plane flies back empty later on.
Haha yes, definitely!
I find it interesting they are saying these are super old planes that should have been retired years ago, and they are 23 years old. I was somehow under the impression it was normal for planes to fly for decades.
They also said or implied that two fuses blew, which meant spoilers had to be taken off, which means it can't fly long distance. It sounds super minor, they can't courier in replacement parts within the three days the PM is in Japan, or fly back to NZ for the repairs then to Japan?
There are DC-3 aircraft that were built prior to WW2 still in commercial service, most notably by Buffalo airways in Canada. Having said that, a modern airliner is a much more complex beast, so much harder to keep running as it ages.
It also sounds like the fuses blowing and spoilers being removed are symptoms of a bigger issue.
