State expects delivery of two jets by early October

THE Government expects to have delivery of its two jets by early October, a spokesman for the Department of Defence said yesterday.

He confirmed that May 30 is the deadline for tenders and that a delivery date of October 1 has been stipulated in its ads for the two jets.

The ads make it clear that the aircraft can be either new or second-hand and at this stage, the Boeing Business Jet at a cost of €40m, plus €5m for fitting out is understood to be the Government's preferred choice to replace its Gulfstream 1V, expected to remain in service for part of Ireland's EU presidency.

The second jet is to replace the Air Corps's 15-year-old Beechcraft Kingair turboprop and is a 7/9 seat jet. The BBJ is capable of flying for 14 hours and carries up to 50 passengers. Fears that the sharp loss in profits at Airbus might set back the tendering process were dismissed by the spokesman.

But he could not comment on who was in the bidding Airbus, Boeing or Bombardier Aerospace.

Tenders have been requested under the guidelines set out by the EU and to date, it has had a lot of interest from potential bidders, said the spokesman. Initial interest is no guarantee of a bid and the Government will have to wait until all tenders are opened at 12 noon, May 30, before they can know the full extent of the interest in the lucrative contract. As to the final outcome, the spokesman for the department said the specifications in the ads have left the final outcome open to a number of possibilities.

"The tender doesn't specify they can be either new or pre-owned and we've asked for all options in terms of payment."