Boeing could modify the requirements for a pair of 747-8 jets it is transforming into presidential transport aircraft in order to deliver them before the end of President Donald Trump’s term, amid his public and private frustrations with the project.
During a hearing on Wednesday, Darlene Costello, principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics, told lawmakers that Boeing’s most recent estimate places delivery of the Air Force One replacements in 2027. That’s an improvement from previous estimates of 2028 or 2029 but still far behind the original 2024 target.
The expedited timeline will depend on changes being made to the project’s requirements, which Costello said the Air Force is “working very closely with the White House” to clear.
“I would not necessarily guarantee that date, but [Boeing is] proposing to bring it into ’27 if we can come to agreement on the requirements changes that get us to that point,” Costello said. “We’re down to a few remaining issues that we have to work through, and we will hope to close that in the very near future. And then we will have, I believe, a better estimate on the schedule.”
Boeing has not officially confirmed any changes to the $3.9 billion fixed-price contract it signed during Trump’s first term. It has absorbed more than $2.5 billion in losses on the project.
Palace in the Sky
Trump is weighing accepting a 747-8 gifted by the royal family of Qatar—to be modified by defense contractor L3Harris—as an interim Air Force One, ABC News first reported. The president has repeatedly expressed frustration with delays to the Boeing project, which aims to replace two modified 747-200Bs that have transported every president since George H.W. Bush.
The Qatari jet—a luxury plane that has been described as a palace in the sky—would be a “contribution to our defense department to use during a couple of years while [Boeing is] building the other ones,” Trump said during remarks on Monday. ABC News reported that the plane would become property of Trump’s presidential library foundation shortly before he leaves office.
The proposed interim Air Force One would represent one of the largest gifts ever awarded to a sitting U.S. president from a foreign power. It has drawn scrutiny from observers, including accusations that it violates the constitution’s Emoluments Clause barring gifts from foreign governments without Congress’ approval.
Per ABC News, White House officials have drafted a legal justification for acquiring the $400 million aircraft. Trump in a social media post called the exchange a “very public and transparent transaction.”
“We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump said Monday. “You look at some of the Arab countries and the planes they have parked alongside of the United States of America plane. It’s like from a different planet.”
The president’s dissatisfaction has led to high-level interventions, including tapping SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to help accelerate the process and personally meeting with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg in the Oval Office in April.
Long Time Coming
Presidential transport aircraft have undergone plenty of changes since 1943, when Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first sitting president to use an airplane—a Boeing 314 Clipper—as a mode of conveyance.
FDR also flew the Sacred Cow: a Douglas C-54 Skymaster equipped with a special lift to accommodate his wheelchair. Harry S Truman replaced the C-54 with a modified C-118 Liftmaster, its nose painted to look like the head of a bald eagle. Later, Dwight D. Eisenhower acquired four propeller-driven aircraft, including the first to bear the call sign Air Force One.
By the end of Eisenhower’s second term, presidential transport began moving into the jet age. The Air Force ordered a trio of Boeing 707s (VC-137As) in 1959, later using the airframe to develop a series of VC-137Cs.
The first of the two current VC-25A jets flew in 1990, after Richard Nixon ordered a pair of 747-200s at the end of his term. But they are now 35 years old and in need of another upgrade. According to Boeing, its replacement VC-25Bs will offer improved range, speed, payload, and interior features while making the aircraft easier to maintain.
“The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy top is astronomical,” Trump said Monday.
Trump’s Impatience Grows
The president has made little effort to hide his displeasure with the delayed VC-25Bs.
The Air Force announced its plans to acquire the 747-8s in 2015. The following year, then-President-elect Trump criticized the project’s cost of “more than $4 billion” and called to cancel it. The public pressure brought Boeing to the negotiating table, and it agreed to cap its contract with the Air Force at $3.9 billion. In 2022, then-Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called the agreement a “very unique set of risks Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken.”
Trump has also voiced frustration with more mundane details, like the jet’s paint job. It is not unusual for a president to request certain features on Air Force One. John F. Kennedy, for example, did away with the aircraft’s orange nose and installed a blue livery with presidential seals. In 2023, though, the Biden administration rejected Trump’s proposed patriotic livery, fearing its dark red and blue stripes would absorb more heat and damage components.
According to Costello, Boeing and the Air Force have already made some unspecified changes to the program.
“We’ve done a couple things on that program actively working to improve the production and the design completion,” Costello said.
The Air Force has also relaxed certain security clearance requirements that it said have hampered the highly classified project. That’s notable considering reported lapses in security clearance for about 250 employees working on the aircraft.
“It will not be a permanent relief, but that has enabled Boeing to be more efficient and productive in assembling the aircraft,” Costello said.
Still, Trump is weighing his options and appears ready to accept the Qatari royals’ offer.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” he said Monday. “I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, no, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane. But it was…I thought it was a great gesture.”
The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that the government has commissioned L3Harris to retrofit the former Qatari plane, which Trump toured in February. Per the Journal, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk began meeting with Boeing executives around that time, which has perturbed executives despite CEO Ortberg’s assurance that Musk is “helping us a lot.”
Trump reportedly hopes to be able to fly in the souped-up jet by the fall, but the acquisition could face pushback from Congress.
