Trump unveils new Air Force One, a converted Qatari 747

Donald Trump unveiled the new, temporary Air Force One at a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday, a day after White House officials bid farewell to one of two Boeing 747s used to transport presidents for more than 30 years.

The new jet, designated VC-25B and decked out in a punchy red, white, dark blue and gold livery, was gifted to Trump by the Gulf emirate of Qatar, provoking howls of political protest since the $400m jet wildly exceeds the limit on unsolicited gifts of $50 in value in a single calendar year from the same source.

Trump dismissed criticism of the arrangement, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer. Then Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell had said that “the secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations”.

The cost of converting the Qatari 747 has been put at $1bn, and it is designed to serve as a “bridge” aircraft until two long-delayed presidential Boeings are delivered in 2027 and 2028. The cost of the two purpose-built aircraft have ballooned from $3.7bn to $5bn.

Criticism of the gifted Qatari jet, which the Gulf state had previously tried to sell without success, included accusations that the costs of conversion could divert money from Sentinel, an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) modernization program already running years behind schedule.

At the unveiling, Trump thanked the emir of Qatar. “He’s a fantastic guy,” he said. “He went through a lot over the last few months.”

“This is considered ​the world’s most luxurious plane.” Trump added. “When it was built, it was built at a level that will probably never be seen again.”

Trump has argued that the new jet was necessary to keep pace with more modern aircraft flown by foreign leaders. “These countries have a lot of respect for us, and yet they have a plane that’s much newer ​and much better. It’s a little ridiculous,” Trump said.

The two ageing 747s in the presidential fleet entered service in 1990, during the presidency of George HW Bush.

Earlier this year, one of the pair was forced to turn back to Washington on a trip to Davos, Switzerland, owing to a technical fault. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the crew identified a “minor electrical issue” and chose to turn around and return to the Andrews base.

The air force fast-tracked the retrofitting of the Qatari jet, but has skipped some planned modifications for the next-generation presidential jet in order to deliver an interim version sooner. Officials said it was up to presidential standards.

“The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority,” Troy Meink, secretary of the air force, said in a statement on Friday. “From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated every requirement to accelerate delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission.“

The new jet, with a color-scheme that echoes that of Trump’s own jet, arrives two weeks before a planned formation flight over Washington DC on 4 July to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump told the crowd at Andrews that the new aircraft will lead the “biggest flyover in American history”.

A tour of the interior given to reporters on Friday revealed that its decor includes a framed print of a duck swimming in the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

The delivery of the Qatari jet crosses over with the retirement of the Air Force One tail number 29000, the Boeing 747-200 that transported the president back from Europe on Thursday and is ultimately destined for a museum.

But its companion aircraft, with the tail number 28000, with its light blue and white trim, will continue flying with the new VC-25B aircraft until the new jets are delivered.

Fears that Trump might simply use the Qatari jet for his personal use when he leaves office in 2028 appear unlikely, given that a 747 costs $180,000 to $200,000 per flight hour, a sharp increase from the $12,000 to $16,500 cost per hour of Trump’s own Boeing 757.