President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing🦹 aircraft — perhaps from an overseas seller — to use as Air Force One when he's abroad, as he fumes over the US plane-maker's delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use, reports said.
✨While speaking to reporters aboard one of the two nearly 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 planes currently in use, Trump stated, “We’re exploring other options, as Boeing is taking too long.”
Jump To Airbus?
🎃“We might just purchase a plane,” he added, noting he could then “convert it.” He later clarified that he wasn’t considering purchasing an aircraft from Airbus, the only other major global supplier of large wide-body planes, but would be open to buying a used Boeing instead. “I would not consider Airbus. I might buy one from another country, or perhaps get one from abroad,” Trump said.
🍃Boeing holds the contract to produce updated versions based on the newer Boeing 747-8, but delays have plagued the delivery. The company has lost billions on the deal, which was negotiated during Trump's first term.
🐼The issue isn't with the planes themselves, but rather the extensive modifications required to make them suitable for presidential use, including top-level security protocols for personnel. These modifications, combined with the cost of the updates, have contributed to the delays. Trump had previously dropped a requirement for the new planes—known as VC-25B—to be capable of air-to-air refueling, a feature of the older VC-25As, which were designed during the Cold War.
ꦡAdditional updates include secure communications equipment for the president, survivability enhancements for various contingencies, and self-contained air stairs to enable use in more remote locations.
♏On February 15, Trump toured a newer Boeing 747-800 to examine its new technology and hardware, emphasizing the delay in delivering the updated Air Force One planes. The White House reported that Trump visited the 13-year-old private jet, once owned by the Qatari royal family, while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport.
With PTI inputs.
