Overview
- President Donald Trump completed the plane’s first flight on Wednesday, July 1, departing Joint Base Andrews for North Dakota and praising the jet as beautiful while calling it a cost saver for taxpayers.
- Qatar presented the Boeing 747 as a gift reported to be worth about $400 million and the aircraft was formally assigned to the U.S. Department of Defense to avoid direct acceptance by the president.
- The administration says the United States paid only to upgrade the jet’s security to presidential standards but has not disclosed the retrofit price and the U.S. Air Force indicated the work cost less than the plane’s reported value.
- The interior includes luxury fittings such as lie-flat seats, wood paneling and presidential seals and the plane is scheduled to take part in the 250th Independence Day aerial flyover over Washington on July 4, when the public can see it.
- The gift has drawn allegation of bribery from Democrats and criticism from some Republican-aligned voices, and raises questions about congressional oversight, foreign influence and the temporary replacement of two roughly 35-year-old presidential aircraft while Boeing plans new jets for 2028.