They want longer flights?
I know very little about aviation. However, why couldn't tankers be used?
I don't think very many passengers could afford what it costs to operate an aerial refueling tanker. I read a report on fuel efficiency and its effects on military operations. It said that a gallon of jet fuel costs about $17 when delivered by tanker compared to a couple of dollars to load that same fuel from a depot on the ground. There's also an element of danger involved with aerial refueling. There's a risk of two maybe more aircraft crashing. There's a reason Air Force One has never been refueled in the air while the President was on board. In fact the Air Force usually doesn't even practice refueling with either of the VC-25's. They use the E-4's to avoid damaging the paint on Air Force One.