Washington — President Trump is heading to North Dakota on Wednesday for what will be his first flight on the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747-8 luxury aircraft gifted to the U.S. by Qatar’s government last year.
The president unveiled the $400 million plane earlier this month. It is replacing the military-grade 747-2 that has carried presidents for more than three decades. The Qatar-provided aircraft is expected to remain in service until a new Boeing fleet is delivered to the Air Force in 2028.
During the North Dakota visit, Mr. Trump is scheduled to take part in a train ride and welcoming ceremony tied to America’s 250th anniversary, before visiting the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Speaking at Joint Base Andrews before departing, the president highlighted the significance of the flight, saying, “This will be the first flight of what I think is maybe the greatest commercial plane ever built.”
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“I’m excited about the first flight. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” Mr. Trump said. “They just completed it, they made it appropriate for a president — that means the security and all the different bells and whistles they put on — very complex stuff. But it’s really quite something.”
The president said the upgrades cost taxpayers “very little” compared with what it might have cost through another approach. He described the aircraft as “a gift from a country that’s treated us very well.”
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The Air Force said it prioritized operational readiness over aesthetics in its upgrades, leaving the plane’s “interior layout minimally changed.” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung shared photos on X from the plane’s interior, which appeared to show large conference tables, leather seats and some glossy wood paneling. The plane also includes a spacious press cabin, according to a pool reporter onboard, with lie-flat seats that feature a massage function and individual TV screens.
Mr. Trump also pointed to the age of the previous aircraft, noting it was more than 30 years old. “It would be parked next to the new ones like this and it really didn’t look appropriate for our country,” he said.
“So we’re really proud of this,” he added. “The country’s very proud of it.”
Eleanor Watson,
Arden Farhi and
contributed to this report.
