Following the Garuda air disaster in Indonesia two weeks ago, Fairfax and News Ltd have sent a joint letter to John Howard, Peter Costello and Alexander Downer requesting the Government either buy bigger VIP aircraft or make other arrangements.
The letter is co-signed by David Kirk, the chief executive officer of Fairfax Media, Ron Walker, Fairfax's chairman, and John Hartigan, the chairman and chief executive officer of News Ltd.
Fairfax publishes the Herald.
"Australian journalists, and the editors to whom they report, take unacceptable risks when correspondents are forced to fly commercial aircraft to cover official trips overseas because there is insufficient space on government aircraft to accommodate them," the letter says.
"While this is of special concern in countries with inadequate air safety, there are other issues. Even in the most developed countries, reliance on commercial aircraft to follow official aircraft on tight travel schedules can make it difficult, at times impossible, to cover official events."
The letter asks the Government to approve the purchase of new aircraft in the May federal budget.
"Unfortunately, in the interim, our editors and bureau chiefs cannot send correspondents on commercial aircraft to cover official government business if insufficient seats are available on the official aircraft."
Mr Howard's office said it received the letter yesterday.
The Australians killed and injured in the Garuda crash were following Mr Downer and the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, to Yogyakarta for a terrorism summit.
Morgan Mellish, an Australian Financial Review journalist, died, and Cynthia Banham, the Herald's Defence and Foreign Affairs correspondent, was severely injured.
Also killed were the Federal Police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, diplomat Liz O'Neill and AusAID's Allison Sudradjat.
In 2002 the ageing VIP fleet was replaced with smaller planes, three Challenger planes, and two Boeing 737s which Mr Howard mostly uses.
The 737 is ill-suited to international travel and once it was fitted out for VIP use, there were only enough seats for Mr Howard and the staff and security detail that travel with him.
Journalists are forced to find their own way and sometimes staffers are pushed onto commercial flights as well.
Ministers tend to use the smaller Challenger aircraft, which Mr Downer and Mr Ruddock used in Indonesia.
The 12-year leases on the fleet do not expire until August 2014.
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