You know you're in trouble when...

...a reporter who's known to be sympathetic to your party is the one who comes up with the nickname for your campaign plane... and it's not a nice one

CTV's Lisa Laflamme is apparently the one who came up with the name... "The Profess-Air", in reference to our efforts that have portrayed him as the nerdy professor - "Last night, reporters dubbed the plane “profess-air” a nod to the criticism Mr. Dion has taken in Tory attack ads for being a nerdy professor. CTV national reporter Lisa Laflamme came up with the name.

In fact, the entire article about the plane is negative... and it's written by Liberal lover Jane Taber no less! I also love the fact that it has a BLUE leather interior...

At long last, a plane trip on the Dion campaign
JANE TABER - Globe and Mail Update
September 10, 2008 at 11:48 PM EDT

IN THE AIR ON ‘PROFESS-AIR' — A huge cheer erupted as Stéphane Dion's campaign plane, a 30-year-old clunker of a Boeing 737, rolled fast enough down the runway to lift off into the air.

Controversy and derision had surrounded this plane from the start of the election campaign after reports that the Liberals – desperate for a campaign plane after waiting too long to procure one – had finally found one from Air Inuit.

And it took four days of campaigning on a bus for the Grits to actually get into the air. There were some reports that the plane wasn't ready. Mr. Dion said it was because he didn't need the plane until last night.

This compares to the Conservatives and the NDP, who are flying Air Canada Airbus 319s and have been back and forth across the country since the election campaign began last Sunday.

The Liberal plane had once been owned by a Saudi Arabian oil company. Most recently with Air Inuit it was used for cargo flights and evacuation flights, and comes equipped with a gravel kit so it can land on gravel airstrips.

Last night, reporters dubbed the plane “profess-air” a nod to the criticism Mr. Dion has taken in Tory attack ads for being a nerdy professor. CTV national reporter Lisa Laflamme came up with the name.

And there were many jokes about the plane's ability or inability to fly, including stories that the planned route from Hamilton to Saint John was going over Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River to avoid flying over highly populated cities, such as Toronto.

Mr. Dion and his wife, Janine Krieber, came to the back of the plane before take-off to wish reporters a safe flight.

Some reporters prayed on the runway.

The plane, however, is okay. Captain Marc Beaudoin, a veteran pilot with Air Inuit who has flown through swirling snowstorms in northern Quebec, is at the controls.

Equipped with three seats on each side of a narrow corridor, this plane is outfitted in blue leather. Mr. Dion and his wife stayed upfront with their entourage.

There is power to plug in laptops so reporters can work. There is an oven in the back to serve warm dinners. Air Inuit also supplied baseball caps. The dinner was chicken and artichoke salad. And the booze flowed.

The plane feels really sturdy. However, this 737 is a gas-guzzler. Along with crew costs, the on-board mechanics and catering and its age, it costs between $18,000 and $20,000 an hour to fly. It is about 35 per cent less efficient than the Conservative and NDP planes.

Mr. Dion had expressed concern in a recent interview that the plane is more polluting than he had hoped. But the Liberals are buying credits to offset carbon emissions.

It landed safely and smoothly.

UPDATE: Jane's article today about Dion's trip to New Brunswick is just as negative... "Tempered welcome greets Dion in Maritimes"

Things aren't looking good for the Liberal campaign so far...