Jet purchase does not fly

The country is in the middle of a health crisis. The economy is in tatters. And the army is planning to buy a new luxury jet for its top generals and VIPs. The proposal is ill-timed and ill-considered. The price tag for the new aircraft, likely to be bought from Gulfstream Aerospace, stands at 1.34 billion baht.

The money will come from taxpayers, many of them are trying to make ends meet as a result of the Covid19-induced economic downturn.

At the macro-economic level, the GDP is down more than 8%, even worse that the recession during the Tom Yum Kung financial crisis of 1997.

Up to 10 million people could be unemployed by the end of the year. and as many as 50,000 small food shops have closed.

For white- and-blue-collar workers, salary cuts have become the new norm. Layoffs are also possible as the threat of a second wave of infection looms, while the economy shows no signs of picking up.

Amid the surrounding hardship, the army still seems convinced its planned purchase of the luxury plane can be justified.

That is why its attempt to defend the lavish outlay was a lame excuse, a blatant show of how ill-informed and out of touch this monolithic organisation is.

The controversy erupted after a document showing the army’s plan to procure the medium-sized aircraft was circulated online.

The plan drew heavy criticism, so the army declared that it was not its intention to buy the kind of private jet owned by billionaires like Elon Musk or Kim Kardashian at this inopportune time when the country has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The purchase was initially planned for the 2020 fiscal year budget but was postponed to 2021.

The new aircraft will replace the current Beechcraft 1900yf, which has been in operation for more than 30 years.

According to the army, the manufacturer of the Beechcraft announced it had stopped making the plane and spare parts would no longer be available.

That is the reason why the army had to consider a replacement. The new plane is necessary to transport army commanders and VIPs, it said.

But why is it necessary?

Why is it essential for high-ranking generals or VIPs to travel around in a private jet?

This is not just a question for hard times like now when most people are suffering economically; it’s pertinent for normal times, too.

The extravagant amount that could be saved if the army were to forfeit the jet might not be enough to benefit everyone but it would at least show the army and government realise where their priorities lie in the face of the crisis.

It’s also the conscientious thing to do. If the army had not been so insensitive, it would have put the billionbaht plane further on the back burner without the need to be prompted.

It would not have pushed for luxury transport to be laid on for a handful of VIPs when most if not all in the country can’t afford to travel at all.

Now and in the foreseeable future, the army’s main mission is to maintain security and extend help to the public as they try their best to curb the outbreak.

Jetting VIPs around does not seem like an immediate or important mission. The army’s argument of spending more than a billion baht on a new aircraft simply doesn’t fly.