Indian President takes maiden flight on IAF`s VVIP jet

New Delhi, April 1 (PTI) Ushering an era of
power-jetting-in-style for VVIPs, Indian President Pratibha
Patil Wednesday formally inducted the Indian Air Force's
newly-acquired, highly-secure Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) and
embarked on her visit to the north-eastern states of Arunachal
Pradesh and Assam on its inaugural flight.

Patil performed prayers and cut a ribbon to mark the
commissioning of the Rs 934-crore BBJs in to the IAF's
Communication Squadron at Palam airport here.

Walking up the red-carpeted stairway, the President, who
is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, waved at
the IAF personnel and the media corps before settling down in
the plush VVIP cabin, which comprises a state-of-the-art
executive office with conferencing facility and a private room
with a double bed cot and in-flight entertainment features.

Designed to act as a command centre-cum-office in the
sky in the event of an emergency such as a nuclear attack, the
BBJs -- derived from Boeing 737-700 -- is custom built for the
IAF by the US aircraft manufacturer and can carry a maximum of
46 passengers and a large cargo space.

"The trip would now be more business like. We will get
more time to study, concentrate and apply our minds as flight
will be more smooth," said Patil, just before the flight took
off from Palam for the north-east.

Though not comparable to the larger and more sleeker Air
Force One of POTUS (President of the United States), the three
BBJs -- named Rajdoot, Rajhans and Rajkamal -- have several
similar features.

"The aircraft has some of the finest high technology
equipment with excellent communication systems," IAF chief Air
Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said at the inauguration
ceremony.

Major said Air Force One of POTUS was a bigger aircraft
and some of its features were different from the Indian BBJs,
mainly because the former is built on the Boeing-747 platform.

"In the BBJs too, there are several features, which
exist in Air Force One. It will be more than fair to call it
the Indian Air Force One. Absolutely, I don't see any reason.
Why not?" Major said to a query in this regard.

He, however, added that "there is a huge difference
between the US Air Force One and this (BBJs). It has got
perhaps other features, some features we don't have. But for
our requirements, I think, we have the necessary equipment on
board."

Pointing out that the BBJs were one of the finest
available aircraft of its class for transport roles in terms
of its performance and safety features, the IAF chief said the
VVIP aircraft had Self Protection Suites (SPS), provided
passenger comfort and had low noise levels. PTI