President Donald Trump on Saturday toured a Boeing aircraft at Palm Beach International Airport, using the visit to highlight delays in the delivery of new Air Force One planes. The White House revealed that Trump inspected new hardware and technology features on the 13-year-old private jet, drawing attention to Boeing’s struggles with the presidential aircraft replacement project.
“President Trump is touring a new Boeing plane to check out the new hardware and technology,” said White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. “This highlights the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised.”
Air Force One Delays Cost Boeing Billions
Air Force One, the modified Boeing 747, is currently operated using two aircraft, both more than 30 years old. Boeing holds the contract to replace these aging planes, but the project has faced repeated delays and cost overruns, with the aircraft maker losing billions of dollars on the program.
Originally scheduled for delivery in 2024, the first of the new aircraft is now expected to arrive in 2027, with the second following in 2028, which would be Trump’s final year in office if re-elected.
Trump has long criticized the ballooning costs and missed deadlines, claiming he negotiated a better deal during his first term.
“Over about four weeks, by saying I wasn’t going to do it, I got the price reduced by $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) for the exact same plane—other than we had a nicer paint job, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said in a 2024 conversation with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on the social media platform X.
Elon Musk’s Role in Cost-Cutting Efforts
Musk, who played a key role in funding Trump’s 2024 campaign, now leads the Department of Government Efficiency, a newly created agency tasked with cutting government spending, eliminating departments, and reducing the federal workforce. The billionaire’s involvement in federal cost-cutting has drawn both praise and criticism.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg stated last month that Musk is actively working with the company to accelerate the Air Force One replacement program and help reduce costs.
A New Look for Air Force One?
Beyond the project’s delays, Trump has also expressed interest in changing the color scheme of Air Force One. The current light blue and white design, in use since the Kennedy administration, was slated for a darker blue look under Trump’s previous term. However, that plan was scrapped by President Joe Biden, following a study that found changing the color scheme would require additional testing, leading to further delays and increased costs.
With Boeing facing financial losses, Musk now overseeing cost-cutting efforts, and the Air Force One replacements still years away, the debate over the future of the presidential aircraft is far from over.
