Canadian Air Force Airbus CC-150 VIP Arrival at Eindhoven Air Base

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The Airbus CC-150 Polaris is the designation for the civilian Airbus A310-300s which have been converted into multi-purpose, long-range jet aircraft for passenger, freight or medical transport and mid-air refueling for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The five Airbus aircraft that make up the fleet were originally civilian airliners purchased and operated by Wardair. First delivered in 1987 and 1988, the planes were transferred to Canadian Airlines when the two airlines merged in 1989. The aircraft were subsequently sold to the Canadian Armed Forces and converted for military use, entering service between December 1992 and August 1993. Four of the five aircraft were converted to the Combi-Freighter standard with a reinforced floor and side opening cargo door. The fifth was modified as a VIP transport aircraft for government executive transport. The version shown in this video is the VIP version of the CC-150 Polaris.

The decision to outfit one of the five CC-150s as a VIP transport intended for use by the Prime Minister of Canada, made while Brian Mulroney held office, was politically controversial. The $56 million in upgrades were criticized as a needless extravagance during a time of government budgetary challenges by then-Leader of the Opposition Jean Chrétien, who labelled the aircraft a "flying Taj Mahal". Chrétien became Prime Minister soon thereafter and tried and failed to sell the aircraft; he refused to use the CC-150 during his ensuing 11 years in office. The interior was downgraded to a smaller, less lavish VIP cabin and the aircraft offered limited communications capability. In 2011, it emerged that since early 2009 the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had repeatedly requested that the VIP-configured CC-150, aircraft #01, had to be repainted from the gun-metal military paint scheme it shared with the other CC-150s to a specialized paint scheme in the national colors of Canada.