As an aviation geek, perhaps the most interesting part of the Pope's visit to the US were his flying arrangements. He chartered an Alitalia jet on the way out, whereby the media onboard paid astronomical fares for economy seats, while he had the business class cabin to himself (of course the media onboard wasn't actually…
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I think it's interesting that they put that video together but didn't show any of the interior modifications besides the flag and adding the microphone mixer. The maintenance staff member said they put in solid curtains but they never showed the interior of the plane just had the flight attendants and staff talking about it. I wonder why they didn't allow any video inside? There must have been media with them on the trip.
@Flyingdoctorwu I noticed that too. The V-22s were my favorite part. I love those things.
@Mike and @Flyingdoctorwu:
MV-22s* The Marine Corps variant. 😉
At least I'm assuming they're USMC aircraft considering they used the RW assets from HMX-1 (Marine 1's command) for the Pope's STRATLIFT.
Seems wasteful to have such a big plane. Does he have a 300 person entourage? I think flying a spirit A319 or an AA regional jet would be more in line with the Pope's message.
@Tom The popes austere message is merely a PR stunt. The Vatican never has been austere and won't be for the foreseeable future (not until his main customer bases in Latin America and Africa have developed enough for the majority of them to reject Catholicism anyway).
Just as there is Air Force One, there is Shepard One for any aircraft the Pontiff is on.