Have you ever imagined paying just over $ 26 for a Boeing 787? That’s what Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel López Obrador, intends to do with the luxurious aircraft acquired by his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto.
Ordered in 2012 and delivered in 2014, the Dreamliner jet replaced a presidential Boeing 757 used for almost two decades, but its high cost was considered superfluous by the new president, who took office in late 2018.
Since then, López Obrador has been trying to sell the jet that stayed for months in a hangar in California as the current president has started to use regular flights in his travels. However, so far there has been no interest in the 787 VIP.
This time, the Mexican president admitted that he could launch a kind of lottery to try to recover part of the investment. The idea proposed by López Obrador is to offer six million raffle tickets at the price of 500 Mexican pesos (about $ 26), which would add up to $ 160 million if all of them were sold.
The Mexican government plans to include in the raffle even the operation of the jet for one year free of charge if the winner does not have the money to fly it. The subject obviously became a reason for memes and jokes on the internet, with people trying to imagine where to park an airplane over 60 meters long and what kind of tours to do with it or even with what colors to paint it.
Interestingly, the 787 is one of the most efficient jets today and should be an easy sale for any lessor company. However, it is not known whether the price asked by the Mexican government is too high or whether the conversion of the aircraft can be very expensive.
To serve as a presidential plane, the Mexican 787-8 is configured to carry 80 people instead of 300, and has luxuries like a complete suite with a private bathroom.
López Obrador even thinks about renting the plane by charging per hour, a clear sign of desperation to get rid of the jet.
