Preach water, guzzle wine by the gallon.
That seems to be what Belgian EU Council President Charles Michel preaches to Europeans as they struggle to pay their ever increasing energy bills.
The Prince of Private Jets, climate hypocrisy. 700,000 euros of taxpayer money spent on private jet flights, some to climate conferences. EU Council President Charles Michel. Image: CC BY 2.0, Wikipedia.
France’s Le Monde news daily reports on how EU Council President Charles Michel “spent a staggering 700,000 euros on private jet flights last year.”
Short city-hops “in true bourgeois style”
Germany’s online Pleiteticker here reacts: “For while he pleads for climate protection in Brussels, he himself flies for an unbelievable 700,000 euros by private jet, even the shortest distances, such as Brussels-Paris.”
“At least 700,000 euros are said to be spent on flights with private jets from the company ‘Luxaviation’ alone, Pleiteticker adds. “In true bourgeois style, he wants even more money next year for even more flights.”
More excerpts from Pleiteticker:
No, it is not only on long-distance trips to China that Michel treats himself to luxury flights on private jets. He also spares no expense on really very short distances within Europe.
Brussels to Paris (300 km)
“For example, from Brussels to Vienna to meet the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, round trip: 20,533 euros. Or from Brussels to Paris, the journey by train takes less than 90 minutes – Michel preferred to fly to the French capital for 37,500 euros. For the same sum, he also went to Berlin to see the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022.”
Flight to climate summit
“This was followed by 5 flights to Strasbourg to the European Parliament (12,250 to 35,000 euros each), a flight to the climate summit (!) ‘COP27’ to Egypt together with Ursula von der Leyen, cost: 103,632 euros Return flight: 50,550 euros.”
Brussels to Beijing: €460,000!
“The absolute top of the spending madness, however, was the flight to Beijing for a meeting with Xi Jinping. The outward and return flight together cost an unbelievable 460,000 euros (!).”
“More on one trip than some people do their whole lives”
“Hypocrisy and Bourgeoise” criticized Pleiteticker, especially in view that the EU has committed to becoming “climate neutral” by 2050.
“The fact that one then flies so insanely often and expensively and thus pollutes the climate more on one trip to China and back than some people do their whole lives is nothing but double standards and hypocrisy,” Pleiteticker comments further. “At times, it degenerates into the absurd: For example, Michel travelled to the climate summit by private jet or to the ‘One Ocean Summit’, a meeting for the protection of the oceans in Brest, France, by plane.”
Entire article at Pleiteticker.de
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On those short trips, does the plane get to cruising efficiency?
He should be restricted to using an ultralight trike.
Well it certainly is rather arrogant to fly in business jets so much but demand the peasants reduce their energy use. However I have issue with the so called reporters’ figures here. I am a pilot and am familiar with flight planning tools and aircraft performance data.
Brussels to Le Bourget is 151 nautical miles including the departure and approach paths. And flying at 16,000 feet it takes 24 minutes in a Gulfstream 4 or 5. And technically would be less than $5,000 for the flight, which can hold up to 13 passengers plus the crew. So if you had one minister plus 5 staff, that is only $800 per person for the trip.
Chartering a G4 or G5 with 3 crew, fuel, fees etc can be as high as $10,000 per hour.
The flight from Brussels to Bejing will take 9.5 hours in the GV. So charter cost there would be $95,000, one way. I do not see where you get 460,000 Euro for that trip.
Nothing wrong with corporate jet travel, but it is wrong to overly use it whilst telling average folks to cut back on their driving and home heating. And I do not believe the reported figures – unless the minister is doing some kickback scheme to the charter service. (or is he using an airliner converted to business jet? A B767 or A330 would bring hourly costs up by double or triple)
Short flights in corporate jets are common. Here is one in a GIV, from Le Bourget to London, about the same distance as to Brussels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2T2YAn-6PM (Gulfstream Paris to London Takeoff and Landing…Eurotrip Part 2) Flight starts at time 4:15. They did a 2 week trip, from New Jersey to Paris, Paris to London, London to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Brussels and then back to the US. All told this probably cost the customer 25 hours of flight time, and paying for the crew accommodations and per diem. So likely $137,000 for the flight and another $12,000 for the crew accommodations. (corporate jets can be as low as $5,500/hour, especially when jet fuel was half the cost it is now)
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[…] ago we reported on how EU Council President Charles Michel, “in true bourgeois style”, spent a staggering 700,000 euros on private jet flights that even […]
[…] ago we reported on how EU Council President Charles Michel, “in true bourgeois style”, spent a staggering 700,000 euros on private jet flights that […]