Taxpayers fork out $250MILLION for Scott Morrison’s new 100-seater plane named ‘Shark One’

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given his official aircraft a brand new name after the jet received a $250million taxpayer-funded upgrade.

Named ‘Shark One’ after his beloved NRL team the Cronulla Sharks, the KC30-A tanker is a welcome improvement for the PM and his entourage and can now travel from Australia to Russia in a single voyage.

The plane is a previous Qantas and Jetstar commercial A330, which was bought in 2015 by Airbus and modified by Airbus into a freighter and air-to-air refueller.

Shark One has a customised interior, and can comfortably carry more than 100 passengers in a lie-flat configuration.

Scott Morrison (pictured left) is the Cronulla Sharks number one ticket holder 

The Prime Minister’s previous aircraft was a single-aisle Boeing 737-700 that had been used since John Howard’s leadership, and would be used for both domestic and international flights.

The plane had the capacity for only 18 passengers, including two AFP Protection officers and three Air Force staff, leaving other ministers, journalists and officials to chase the PM’s aircraft around the world using commercial airlines.

Now the press party can travel in style, with the aircraft capable of completing one-way flights from Canberra to Tel Aviv and Moscow.

Mr Morrison’s maiden voyage in Shark One will be to the US on September 19, travelling to Washington and New York.

The prime minister is the number one ticket holder for the Cronulla Sharks, who will play their elimination final against the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday night. 

The upgraded KC30-A tanker named ‘Shark One’ has a customised interior, and can comfortably carry more than 100 passengers in a lie-flat configuration (pictured: a Royal Australian Air Force KC30-A tanker in the Middle East)