Is ‘new used plane’ even proper English?
Anyway, Donald Trump just took possession of his big, used Boeing 757 plane. He wants everyone to know about it. His camp sent Forbes this article (yes, I see the paradox of me now writing about it. Does it mean Trump wins?)
Naturally, the article very bluntly raises the question of ‘will he rejoin the Presidential race he never joined?’ America loves reading and debating that question. Plus, Trump can’t let Sarah Palin and her bus tour hog the entire election-speculation spotlight.
As Matt Molnar points out in his story, the Boeing 757 is a very presidential plane:
"Recent history has shown the 757 to be the standard issue campaign jet for major Presidential candidates. The two most recent Presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both flew 757s to victory in 2000 and 2008. John Kerry also darted across the country on a 757 during his 2004 run and Al Gore, who in 2000 ran for President while still in the Vice President’s office, used the US Air Force variant of the 757–the C-32–to move from one campaign stop to the next. (John McCain used a Boeing 737 while Bill Clinton got around on a 727, if you’re keeping score at home)."
It’s an interesting observation—and great Internet traffic bait too. But the likely reason why Trump bought the plane in February is that he got a great deal.
A few weeks back I had breakfast with one of our FORBES 400 members. He loves planes and we started talking about the private plane market. It turns out the market for used jets is in a tailspin (I know, sorry). Why? President Obama.
Obama shunned executives of Citigroup, Bank of America and the rest for zipping around in private planes while the rest of America (the ones who bailed them out) flew coach. Fearing populist revolt, companies ditched their jets. Even companies that didn’t take a government bailout put planes up for sale. This created a glut of supply in a market already suffering from weak demand.
Today, used private planes cost about 50% less than they did in 2007. It’s a deal worthy of Groupon. It’s likely Trump paid billionaire Microsoft cofounder, Paul Allen, pennies on the dollar for the 757. Wow, Paul Allen’s plane, if those walls could talk… well, I guess they would just recite Bill Gates-related rants, mixed in with obscure Star Trek quotes.
Via forbes , Photo by AP photo
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