President Trump unveiled the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One plane on Friday, saying it will fly “further and faster” than any other model of presidential plane.
Trump toured the renovated Boeing jet at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“There will never be one like this. This is very unique. This is considered the world’s most luxurious plane,” the president said. “When it was built, it was built at a level that will probably never be seen again.”
The plane features a new color scheme — red, white, gold and navy blue, a change from the two-toned lighter blues. It features the presidential seal on the left side and has a massive waving American flag on its tail.
The aircraft, designated by the Air Force as VC-25B, is expected to be a “bridge” aircraft in use between the aging Boeing 747-200s that have been used for more than two decades and the two new Boeing planes that were expected in 2024 but won’t be ready until 2028.
The Air Force said in a release that the plane will begin “commissioning flights,” which are used as a “final exam” for aircraft modification.
Trump confirmed that he would be taking the new plane to the NATO summit in Turkey next month and to China when he goes back “at some point,” presumably to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
He praised the “workmanship” of the plane, calling it a “flying White House,” and said his trip to France for the Group of 7 summit earlier this week was his last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One.
“Now, when we land at airports in London, in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” he said. “Nobody even comes close.”
The new Air Force One will do a flyover on July 4, Trump said.
He said the old plane traveled to 96 countries on 223 international trips and covered more than 6 million miles.
“It became the most famous airplane the entire world,” he said.
The first president to fly aboard the aircraft with tail number 29000 was George H.W. Bush in 1990.
It notably became an in-air command center for then-President George W. Bush during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Trump administration officially accepted the luxury 747-800 jet from Qatar last May, a decision that was questioned and criticized over ethical and security concerns.
Trump himself has said he will not fly it once he is no longer president and it will instead be a part of his presidential library.
Administration officials bid farewell to the aging Boeing 747-200s, or VC-25A, on social media.
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote early Thursday on the social platform X, sharing a picture of the plane. “The Last Ride.”
White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino also bid the aircraft farewell with a video posted on social media.
“I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 ½ years — of the 35 years it has been serving the U.S. Presidents…THANK YOU…,” he wrote.
The older Air Force Ones are not retiring, however.
An Air Force spokesperson told NBC News last week the “VC-25As will continue to serve in the executive fleet and could still be used by the president as Air Force One.”
