- Mexico has finally sold its presidential Boeing 787 private jet, which it purchased for $218 million in 2012.
- The now-depreciated plane will be repainted in California before being delivered to Tajikistan in Central Asia.
- The “ostentatious” Dreamliner was sold because the Mexican president refused to use it.
Mexico has finally gotten rid of its unwanted presidential plane.
Source: AP
In mid-April, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the nation’s VIP Boeing 787 private jet had been sold to Tajikistan for $92 million.
Source: AP
The Dreamliner started its journey to the Central Asian nation on Friday, first flying to Tucson, Arizona, for customs clearance, per the Mexican government. The jet will then travel to California for a new paint job.
Source: FlightRadar24, Mexican Government
According to López Obrador, the price tag reflected the jet’s depreciation. Speaking in Veracruz on April 21, he said the money will be used to build two new hospitals in the Mexican cities of Tlapa and Tuxtepec.
Source: Flight Global, Aviacionline
“Wow, it was difficult for us to find a client,” he said. “We are like the nouveau riche, who buy a yacht or an airplane like this, and are only happy the day they launch it and the day they sell it.”
Source: Mexican Government, Andrés Manuel
Mexico’s fancy presidential jet was purchased for $218 million in 2012 by then-president Felipe Calderón as a replacement for the country’s aging VIP Boeing 757.
Source: CNN
But, it wasn’t delivered until 2016 — after he left office — and fell into the lap of Calderón’s successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, who was the president before López Obrador.
Source: CNN
The 80-seater plane — which is actually one of six 787 test aircraft built by Boeing — was equipped with a presidential suite, complete with a private office, shower, meeting room, king-sized bed, and treadmill…
Source: Insider,
…as well as conference tables and large reclining seats each with an inflight entertainment system, according to the Mexican government.
Source: Insider, Mexican Government
But, López Obrador says the jet’s lavish decor was purchased during a “paranoiac” era and is an “insult” to Mexico’s people: “Not even Obama has a plane like this one.”
Source: Insider
Because of this, he deemed the “ostentatious” plane too luxurious to fly in and instead regularly flies commercial.
Source: Flight Global
Moreover, he criticized his predecessor Peña Nieto for spending $19 million on travel from 2012 to 2015 — López Obrador only spent $1 million from 2018-2021, Forbes Mexico reported.
Source: Forbes Mexico
Source: Business Insider
