MEXICO.- Despite attempts by civil groups to prevent Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto from acquiring a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the plane will be delivered the end of this month at the Boeing Commercial Airplanes installations in Seattle, Washington. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which will be operated by the Mexican air force, is the most expensive plane in the world, at a price tag of 7.5 billion pesos or about six hundred million dollars.

The Dreamliner is state-of-the-art, and stock full of luxuries such as the cleanest air filtration system, a presidential office, and accommodations for guests and journalists with capacity for a total of 250 passengers. Rooms are reportedly equivalent to the best five star hotels, a characteristic that most presidential planes cannot boast, even when compared to the most developed nations.

If we put the future Mexican executive plane side by side with the U.S.’s Air Force One, there is little comparison. The Dreamliner can travel close to ten thousand miles without refueling versus the Air Force One that must refuel at around the 8,000 mile mark. The Dreamliner is more expensive than the Air Force One, which was purchased in 1990 at a cost of 250 million dollars (even adjusting for inflation, it is still less than the new Dreamliner. Although, there's actually two Boeing VC-25As). The Dreamliner is not only expensive to buy, but expensive to maintain - it is estimated that the yearly maintenance costs alone will be 1.2 million pesos (close to 100,000 dollars).

Not many details are being shared with the public, but what we do know is that the Dreamliner features larger windows and automatic curtains, in addition to the five star quality private rooms. The plane is said to have the security level of a bunker, but not much else is known. The Air Force One is known to have anti-aircraft missiles and anti-nuclear shields along with other features that help it avoid missile detection.

The process to obtain this plane commenced during Felipe Calderon’s tenure in 2012, and the plane will be paid off over the course of 15 years. While the initial cost was estimated at around 1.6 billion pesos, reports indicate that the price tag increased by 350% because of the extended payment terms.

Elizabeth.Rosales@sandiegored.com

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