Want to be a plane spotter? Or a political pundit? Test your aptitude with this simple quiz:
Looking at the two images above, can you tell which plane belongs to which American presidential candidate?
As the 2008 election campaign gathers momentum, the candidates are racking up frequent flier miles as they jet across America. Someday, of course, both John McCain and Barack Obama hope to get an upgrade to the Presidential Suite aboard Air Force One. Until then, however, the candidates have leased lesser jets to meet their transportation needs. Both candidates are flying American-built planes: McCain rides in a chartered Boeing 737-400, while Obama chartered a Boeing 757. Both aircraft have been customized to serve as workhorses for the candidates and their entourages, and each has been painted in the livery of the respective campaigns. Let's take a closer look...
AIR McCAIN
Once upon a time, McCain's 737, N802TJ (cn 24874/1936), flew for US Airways. Today, McCain chartered it from Swift Aviation. Reprising the name of his famous campaign bus from the 2000 election, McCain has dubbed his aircraft the "Straight Talk Express." Teal and gold feature prominently in the plane's livery, giving it an early 1990s look. The words "Reform, Prosperity, Peace" are painted near the rear cargo doors, and McCain's campaign URL is emblazoned on the tail. According to the Mosheh Oinounou from Fox News:
The plane is separated into four areas:
–a front section with 10 seats for McCain and senior staff,
–a second area with a couch and two captain’s chairs for McCain to talk to press similar to the back of his campaign bus,
–a third section for Secret Service and other staff,
—and finally a fourth section with 66 seats, and most importantly
power outlets, for press.
AIR OBAMA
When Barack Obama returns from his international odyssey in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Germany, he'll be greeted by N755NA (cn 30043/925) , a newly refitted Boeing 757 chartered from North American Airlines. Obama's plane originally flew with National Airlines. It's new white-and-navy livery is vaguely JetBlue-esque, but it's most conspicuous for omitting Barack Obama's name entirely from the fuselage. Instead, the aircraft emphasizes his campaign slogan — "Change We Can Believe In." Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times reports:
Obama's newly reconfigured plane is divided into first class for the
candidate and his closest advisors--such as strategist David Axelrod,
who is on the flight; business class seats, occupied Sunday by foreign
affairs advisors such as Denis McDonough and coach, where 41
journalists who are part of the traveling Obama press corps are seated.
What do these two aircraft tell us about each candidate's campaigns and their fitness to become Commander-in-Chief? Frankly, we have no idea.
UPDATE, 07 AUGUST, 2008:
In response to charges by conservative critics that Barack Obama "removed the American flag from his airplane," the truth-hunters at Snopes.com have compiled a report which explains the facts behind the new livery. While it is true that the stylized flags used in the original North American Airlines livery were removed, those graphics were part of North American's trademark, making them inappropriate for permanent use on the Obama campaign's plane. However, in addition to the stylized flag that appears as part of the the Obama campaign logo, the aircraft also retains the American flags placed alongside the aircraft's N-registration number:
In light of these circumstances, Telstar Logistics believes the conservative critique of the new livery is somewhat misleading and extremely silly. The issue of flag display on a campaign aircraft is utterly irrelevant to any debate on how best to address the significant challenges the U.S. will face during the next four years. Nevertheless, we encourage you to read the complete Snopes report for the full details.
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(IMAGES: McCain 737 photo by Mosheh Oinounou/Fox News. Obama 757 photo by Rob Olewinski)