The new Air Force One, converted from a former Qatari-owned Boeing 747, will be a temporary presidential aircraft until Boeing delivers the long-delayed replacement fleet in 2028.
President Donald Trump has unveiled a new Air Force One, a converted Boeing 747 previously owned by Qatar, which will now be the official aircraft for the US president.
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The redesigned jet replaces the iconic pale blue Kennedy-era livery with a more striking color scheme with a navy blue underside, a red stripe running along the fuselage, and a large American flag on the tail.
The presidential seal is visible on the front of the boarding door next to the president.
“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Joint Base Andrews hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on.
Trump dramatically stepped off the new plane to the tune of his signature song, “God Bless the USA.”
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He said he would take the new jet to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and said he would return to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November.
He said his return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last scheduled trip aboard the old Air Force One.
“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”
The new Air Force One will fly over during the July 4 celebrations next month, he said.
The Qatar gift is acting as a “bridge” plane to ferry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. Now, that’s being pushed back to 2028.
Yet the administration accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to use as the presidential airplane. Questions remain about the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government.
Trump has said in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet after he leaves office, saying it would be donated to a future presidential library.
On Friday, Trump said the US was in a “little bit of a logjam” as they awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but had been delayed.
He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for the use of one of their planes.
“See, a normal president wouldn’t do this,” Trump said. “A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft. But our country has to be represented properly.”
The Air Force said in a news release that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.”
The Air Force also said that “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.
The Air Force has said in the past that security upgrades to the jet would cost less than $400 million.
Trump’s attempts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he ordered an incoming fleet of new jets to be painted in a color scheme nearly indistinguishable from his own personal airplane.
Then-President Joe Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review showed the darker colors could increase costs and delay the delivery of the new jets. But when Trump returned to office, he reverted to his preferred colors for the plane.
Other government jets carrying other top administration officials will also use a similar red, white, and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
