It frankly seems odd to me that John Howard more or less has an official aircraft while Tony Blair does not.
Posted on 12/26/2006 5:19:02 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was confirmed to be aboard the British Airways flight that overshot the runway at Miami International Airport Tuesday evening.
Flight 209, carrying 343 passengers and crew onboard luckily had no injuries. The plane did not sustain any damage, but some runway lights were broken by the plane. The plane was making an arrival from London’s Heathrow Airport, with Blair traveling in first class.
No word yet on what caused it to slightly run off the landing area and onto the grass.
The plane, with passengers inside, is being towed to the terminal.
CBS sources would not comment further as to why Blair was traveling on the plane.
Whoops must proof read better LOL
Attending a Funeral about 90 miles South of Miami, OR,....
got a REAL strong Jones for some Third World Pollo ,Arroz Moro, & Platanos maduro.
Damn. Now I do too.
The building of the jet was probably outsourced to China or India......or, heaven forbid, FRANCE.
That'll teach Tony to rub elbows with the hoi polloi on a commercial flight.
Aerospace ping
Sharm el Sheikh may not be a good idea at the moment :)
Interesting that I was staying last week in King David hotel in Jerusalem.Tony Blair was there for few days.When he had to fly to Abu Dabi,his flight was delayed because there is no permission for direct flights from Israel to many Arab countries.
You should see his body guards.WOW!
It frankly seems odd to me that John Howard more or less has an official aircraft while Tony Blair does not.
That isn't really the case.
The Monarch's useable power has diminished over the years, but it was well after Magna Carta - and the reserve powers that still exist today and could be used in an emergency are still very real. The actual Monarch hasn't used their reserve powers in a long time, but in my country (Australia) the Queen's representative, the Governor-General last used them as recently as 1975 - he sacked the entire government to resolve a constitutional crisis.
More significantly, ultimate power to command the military rests with the Queen. The emergency orders that would release nuclear weapons in the event of an attack of the United Kingdom are 'Queens Orders'. Yes, the Prime Minister has the power to issue them, but they are the Queen's orders.
And if the Prime Minister is killed or incapacitated, there is no automatic succession. A new Prime Minister must be commissioned by the Monarch. However, if the Monarch is killed, the next person in the line of succession instantly becomes King or Queen. For this reason, maintaining the Monarchy in the event of an emergency is more critical to British survival than maintaining the Prime Minister. The King or Queen (whoever that may be) can govern alone if necessary. A Prime Minister cannot.
He flies BA chartered 777-200ER's on long trips. They supposedly have a special interior configuration when the PM or Royalty charter 777's.
Prime Minister Tony Blair arriving at Easterwood Airport on a
British Airways Boeing 777-236ER
If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
I'd like to suggest the possibility that the reason for his being on the plane was to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the UK to the US.
TB on a commercial flight? Just wow!
Personally, I would think providing extra security to the PM would be paramount in this time of war. Ever hear of the saying: "penny wise and pound foolish"?
"Landing with the wind, not into it?"
- I'm not a pilot, but as a passenger, I've noticed that pilots from northern climates can sometimes have problems when landing at airports like Miami or Tampa where the air is often hot and very humid. This seems to increase the lift on the wings and unless the pilot cuts the power and deliberately bangs the plane down with a heavy thud, the plane tends to float and takes up a lot of runway before the pilot can get it on the ground. I suppose it's possible the pilot just misjudged the effect and lost it.
Thanks for clarifying that for me. I knew that the monarchy in England didn't cease to rule immediately after the Magna Carta was enacted, but I knew that somewhere in there the majority of their power and authority was gradually handed over to the Parliament and the bulk of their duties became more ceremonial. I just wasn't clear on the division of powers.
Thanks to your post, I understand it a little better.
Thank you for explaining that so well showing how important the constitutional monarchy is and in real terms the position of the PM is relatively unimportant after all it is the party that is voted into power by voting for your individual MP not one man and the government is run by cabinet collective rule not that of one man.
LOL
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