{"id":59607,"date":"2025-05-16T22:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T20:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59607"},"modified":"2026-05-16T00:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:37:19","slug":"the-boeing-747-8i-that-donald-trump-wants-to-use-as-air-force-one-and-its-serious-drawbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/05\/16\/the-boeing-747-8i-that-donald-trump-wants-to-use-as-air-force-one-and-its-serious-drawbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boeing 747-8i that Donald Trump wants to use as Air Force One and its serious drawbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The next US presidential plane has become a controversial issue for several reasons.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/08\/20\/the-problems-of-the-vh-92a-patriot-the-new-us-marine-one-presidential-helicopter\/\">The problems of the VH-92A Patriot, the new US Marine One presidential helicopter<\/a><\/rel><br \/>\n<rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2022\/05\/10\/e-4b-nightwatch-this-is-the-inside-of-the-doomsday-plane-of-the-us-air-force\/\">E-4B Nightwatch: this is the inside of the 'Doomsday Plane' of the US Air Force<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n<p>About this plane, <strong>a Boeing 747-8i (the i stands for Intercontinental) gifted by the royal family of Qatar<\/strong>, you can see here the video published today by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@flybywire-aviation\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fly By Wire Aviation<\/a> (an excellent YouTube channel that I recommend you subscribe to) giving some information and showing <strong>exterior and interior images of this luxurious plane<\/strong> (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nuevo Air Force One Para Trump\" width=\"665\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xA5H5XFk6bQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>This 747-8i was purchased by Qatar Amiri Flight,<\/strong> a Qatari government company that dedicates its services almost exclusively to the Thani family, which controls the Islamic dictatorship. <strong>Boeing delivered the aircraft in April 2012, and it was registered as P4-HBJ.<\/strong> Equipped with every luxury, this plane is like a flying palace.<\/p>\n<p>A few days ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/05\/13\/us-news\/trump-defends-accepting-impressive-400m-jet-from-qatar\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Trump expressed his willingness to accept the $400 million jet gifted by Qatar<\/a>. <em>\"Some people say, \u2018Oh, you shouldn\u2019t accept gifts for the country.\u2019 <strong>My attitude is, why wouldn\u2019t I accept a gift? We\u2019re giving to everybody else, why wouldn\u2019t I accept a gift?<\/strong>\"<\/em> To be honest, the plane isn't exactly a gift to the country, but to Trump. <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-administration-poised-accept-palace-sky-gift-trump\/story?id=121680511\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ABC News reported that the plane would be used by Trump during his term<\/a> <strong>and later transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation<\/strong>, which has raised questions about the legality of the transaction and also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/05\/14\/nx-s1-5398099\/trump-qatar-air-force-one-republicans-congress\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">criticism even from within Republican ranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"foto_piedefoto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523877896_91c563fb26_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523877896_c48d4f1fb7_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"piedefoto\">One of the two VC-25As currently used by the United States as presidential aircraft (Photo: U.S. Air Force).<\/div>\n<p>The reason Trump wants this plane is that <strong>the current Air Force One<\/strong> (remember that this name is a radio callsign given to every plane the US president is flying on at a given time, while the vice president's plane is Air Force Two) <strong>are two Boeing VC-25As (a modified version of the 747-200B) that made their first flights in 1987<\/strong>, during Ronald Reagan's term. These planes are about to turn 40 years old.<\/p>\n<div class=\"foto_piedefoto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54524069244_0679525328_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54524069244_3170c0de7c_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"piedefoto\">An artist's impression of one of the new VC-25Bs. They are expected to be delivered in 2027. (Image: U.S. Air Force).<\/div>\n<p>On January 28, 2015, the United States Air Force (USAF) (the operator of these aircraft) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/562748\/af-identifies-boeing-747-8-platform-for-next-air-force-one\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced the selection of the Boeing 747-8 as the new Air Force One<\/a>. Construction of the two new presidential aircraft, designated VC-25B, began that same year. <strong>These planes have become a headache for Boeing.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/806134244384899072\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In December 2016, Trump denounced that <em>\"costs are out of control, more than $4 billion\"<\/em><\/a>, and asked to cancel the order.<\/p>\n<div class=\"foto_piedefoto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523877851_46f0015dea_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523877851_0e59123d0b_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"piedefoto\">An artist's impression of the new livery proposed by Trump during his first term for the new VC-25Bs (Image: Boeing).<\/div>\n<p>Ultimately, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/policy\/2018\/02\/air-force-one-deal-might-be-less-rosy-claimed\/146288\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">it was agreed that Boeing would sign a fixed-price contract<\/a> with Boeing covering any cost overruns on the planes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/business\/2022\/04\/ceo-boeing-should-have-rejected-trumps-air-force-one-deal\/366186\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In April 2022, Boeing said it had already lost $660 million on the planes.<\/a> As of today, construction of those two VC-25Bs is still ongoing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/air-force-one-boeing-requirements-2027\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is expected to be delivered in 2027<\/a>, when the current VC-25As will be 40 years old.<\/p>\n<div class=\"foto_piedefoto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54524233260_0028d71270_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54524233260_4797f453b2_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"piedefoto\">The Boeing 747-8i gifted by Qatar to Trump, photographed on February 12, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida (Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/awilson154\/33462868070\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alec Wilson<\/a>).<\/div>\n<p>Beyond the legal and political issues, <strong>the 747-8i gifted by Qatar to Trump will not be remotely free for US taxpayers<\/strong>. It must be taken into account that the plane must undergo a meticulous inspection to be able to serve as a presidential plane. It will also <strong>need communications equipment and other security systems that are classified and that will have to be paid for by the USAF<\/strong>. This would entail <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/13\/politics\/converting-jet-air-force-one-trump-cost\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">disassembling the plane to its most basic structure<\/a> and then reassembling it. Current forecasts indicate that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/trump-qatar-jet-air-force-one-billions-b2749803.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this 747-8i conversion would be completed after 2028<\/a>, the year Trump's current term ends.<\/p>\n<div class=\"foto_piedefoto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523009487_e150602fe8_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54523009487_69e9956bda_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"piedefoto\">An image of the interior of the luxurious Boeing 747-8i gifted by Qatar to Trump (Photo: Amas Aerospace).<\/div>\n<p>A few days ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/13\/politics\/converting-jet-air-force-one-trump-cost\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CNN reported on the plane<\/a>: <em>\"a person a person familiar with the details of the potential plan said the value of the Qatari aircraft is closer to $250 million. <strong>Overhauling it, according to administration estimates the person has been briefed on, could cost as much as three times that, or more.<\/strong>\"<\/em> While it won't be as expensive as the VC-25Bs under construction, one has to wonder <strong>what's the point of paying such a high sum for a plane that likely won't be ready until after the two VC-25Bs arrive<\/strong> \u2014not to mention that the 747-8i would end up in the hands of Trump's presidential foundation.<\/p>\n<p>---<\/p>\n<p><small>Main photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/tagsplanepics-lhr\/23226682739\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">John Taggart<\/a>. Boeing 747-8i P4-HBJ photographed in December 2015 bearing the registration A7-HBJ.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The next US presidential plane has become a controversial issue for several reasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19536,11546],"tags":[6680,24448,9189,1818,24446,10431,6761],"class_list":["post-59607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-we-said-yesterday","category-military-aviation","tag-boeing-747","tag-boeing-vc-25","tag-donald-trump","tag-qatar","tag-qatar-amiri-flight","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-air-force-usaf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}