President Donald Trump is ditching Boeing’s delayed $3.9 billion Air Force One project in favor of a lavish used jet from Qatar, likely adding hundreds of millions to taxpayers’ bills.
Trump Wants A New Ride
The fancy Boeing 747 that he wants, once owned by Qatar’s government and worth about $400 million, comes decked out with gold-colored walls, plush carpets, leather couches, and fancy fixtures designed by famous French design firm Alberto Pinto Cabinet — looking much like Trump Tower’s flashy style, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s switch comes as he grows impatient waiting for the presidential plane replacement program he has wanted Boeing to complete since his first term in 2017.
He’s hired Florida defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to outfit the private Boeing 747 with the communication and security systems he believes he needs, with plans to have the plane ready by early fall. The plane in question is a 13-year-old Boeing 747-8 with the tag P4-HBJ, previously used by Qatar’s royal flight service, One Mile at a Time reports.
“I’m not happy with Boeing,” Trump reportedly told staff after checking out the used Qatari plane in West Palm Beach this February and putting his plan in play.
The original Boeing contract was supposed to replace two aging VC-25A planes that have been flying presidents since George H.W. Bush’s time, FLYING magazine notes.
These planes, which are called “Air Force One” only when carrying the president, now need constant maintenance, making new replacements necessary.
Boeing initially promised to deliver custom 747-8s by 2024, turning them into flying command centers that could operate during security threats with military-grade communication and defense systems.
But the company has hit many roadblocks, including supplier problems, pandemic shutdowns, and manufacturing delays, driving costs way over budget.
According to a 2022 statement from Air Force One, “The VC-25B schedule is delayed due to a combination of factors including impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, interiors supplier transition, manpower limitations, wiring design timelines and projected test execution rates.”
Aviation A2Z reports that the complicated wiring systems and problems with door cutouts in the plane’s lower sections are major hurdles.
In a shocking update, Boeing recently told government officials the new planes wouldn’t be ready until around 2035 — far beyond the original timeline and well after Trump leaves office.
This news reportedly had White House officials thinking about canceling Boeing’s contract before Trump’s January inauguration and possibly suing the company.
Adding to the drama, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has gotten involved.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in February that Musk was “actually helping us a lot in working through the requirements on VC-25 to try to help us get the things that are non-value-added constraints out of the way,” Newsweek reported.
Ortberg credited Musk with helping cut through unnecessary requirements from the Air Force and White House, though Boeing still struggles with getting FAA approval and security clearances for staff working on the classified project.
The timing of the jet purchase is interesting, as The Associated Press reports that the Trump Organization just made a deal with Qatar to build a luxury Trump-branded golf resort.
The golf course and fancy beachside villas north of Qatar’s capital Doha will be partly developed by Qatari Diar, a company owned by Qatar’s government — the same government that previously owned the plane Trump is now getting.
With taxpayers already committed to the original $3.9 billion Boeing contract that’s now billions over budget, this additional Qatar jet acquisition raises serious questions about government spending priorities.
As Boeing struggles to deliver on its promises and L3Harris races to retrofit a lavish foreign plane with presidential systems in record time, American taxpayers find themselves footing the bill for not one but potentially two ultra-expensive presidential aircraft projects — with the timing of the Qatar deal adding another layer of complexity to an already controversial procurement process.
