President Donald Trump is back flying on the traditional blue-and-white Air Force One, while his plane gifted from the Qatari royal family is in the shop. It’s easy to forget that two other planes are still on the way. Boeing announced in its Q2 financial statement on Tuesday that the Air Force One program will cost an additional $280 million. The program is now $3.1 billion over budget. Unlike the Qatari jet, Boeing is footing the bill for cost overruns, not the taxpayer.
Trump negotiated with Boeing during his first term to replace the aging Boeing VC-25A. The $3.9 billion deal signed in 2018 was a gamble for Boeing, because the aerospace giant agreed to a fixed cost. Boeing struggled to deliver the pair of VC-25Bs because of design changes, production issues and staffing problems. According to CNN, last quarter’s $280 million increase was for a “ramp-up in production and certification resources.” While the Department of Defense doesn’t have to deal with the added cost, the delayed delivery wasn’t a non-issue.
There’s no such thing as a free plane
The first VC-25B was initially slated for delivery in 2024, the final year of Trump’s second term if he had won the 2020 election. Production delays shifted that date back to 2027. Trump returning to the White House in 2025 created an unforeseen problem: A petulant President expecting a new plane that wasn’t ready. There were plenty of offers, including from Elon Musk, to take over from Boeing and rush production to get a new plane ready for service.
Qatar used Trump’s desperation to get his approval on a $96 billion deal with Boeing. The Gulf monarchy just had to part with a private $400 million Boeing 747 that it wasn’t using. Once the gifted plane was delivered, the White House gave $1 billion to defense contractor L3Harris to prepare the aircraft for service as Air Force One. The aircraft was ready in 11 months, suspiciously fast compared to Boeing’s effort. The Secret Service, then the world, would quickly realize the gifted plane wasn’t fully equipped for the job.
