Since news came out earlier this month that the Royal family of Qatar gifted President Donald Trump with a luxury jet that he is considering turning into Air Force One, there has been controversy over the plan. Specifically, people have been concerned about the work needed for the plane to meet Air Force One standards.
At least one expert has said that cost could exceed $1 billion. Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory and an expert in military aircraft recently joined Audacy to discuss the plane.
“I would actually say it’s probably closer to $1 billion to $2 billion when all is said and done,” he said when WWL’s Tommy Tucker asked him about $400 million estimates regarding the worked needed to update the Qatari plane. “It’s incredibly labor intensive, and if they put all the communications and encryption and war fighting capabilities that you need to put in… and if you look at the other contract as any kind of example, then yeah, it’s way north of $1 billion.”
According to the White House, “Air Force One is maintained and operated by the Presidential Airlift Group, part of the White House Military Office,” that was established in 1944, under the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the 1940s and 1950s, various planes served as the president’s mode of air transport.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower then flew to Europe aboard a Boeing 707 Stratoliner in August 1959. Aboulafia said a 707 model used as a presidential plane is on display at the Ronald Regan Presidential Library and that the two Boeing 747 models operating today have been used for more than 30 years, but have been updated several times.
“Air Force One is one of the most recognizable symbols of the presidency, spawning countless references not just in American culture but across the world,” per the White House Emblazoned with the words ‘United States of America,’ the American flag, and the Seal of the President of the United States, it is an undeniable presence wherever it flies.”
In 1997, the plane became the setting for “Air Force One”, an action movie starring Harrison Ford as the president of the U.S. It was a box office success and one of the highest-grossing films that year.
In real life, the planes can accomplish great tasks such as refueling in mid-air and they are equipped with special features necessary for safety and more regarding the president. As the planes used now have been in commission for decades, Aboulafia confirmed to WWL’s Tommy Tucker that there is already a project to create two new planes underway.
As for the Qatari plane, also known as the “palace in the sky, the expert said refurbishing it to be ready for use as Air Force One would not only cost money, but it would take time. It seems likely that the planes already underway would be finished first.
“There’s an aspect of that… I mean, it’s been it’s like a cell phone that’s been left alone unattended in a dangerous neighborhood for about thirteen years… it might have some issues,” said Aboulafia. “Except it’s not a cell phone, it’s a jet a giant jet, which means it’s going to take an awfully long time to rip it apart and inspect it.”
He also explained that: “When you build an Air Force One, you build it in the U.S., and with U. S. workers and, well, you carefully go through the supply chain with a fine-tooth comb. This is pretty much the opposite of that.”
Trump’s administration has said that he only plans to use the plane during his term and then to have it on display in his presidential library. However. Aboulafia confirmed that to could take more than the length of Trump’s term to get it ready for use.
“I don’t understand this at all,” he told Tucker. “I mean, it won’t even be ready, I don’t think, for most of the president’s term.”
Some of those who support the plan for the plane have mentioned its estimated $400 million price tag. Aboulafia said the plane doesn’t really have that value, especially for use as Air Force One, which would require stripping it down to studs to make sure it doesn’t harbor national security risks.
“I don’t know if this is just an upholstery thing,” he said of the current Air Force One planes compared to the Qatari jet. “It’s not incredibly luxurious.”
Listen to the full conversation here.