The plane is meant to serve as a temporary stopgap before a new fleet of Boeing planes expected to be delivered in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is painted in white, maroon and navy blue \u2014 a dramatic shift from the iconic baby blue of the planes that have been in service for decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had it all painted it up, and these are the new colors: red, white and blue,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd we liked the baby blue, but it was time for a change. And this is the sleekest line. Everything was designed good. It was my taste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump indicated a larger hangar at the military base was necessary to accommodate the new, \u201cmuch bigger\u201d models that haven\u2019t yet been delivered, as well as the gifted jet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that he\u2019s planning a 4 July flyover of the new plane over the White House and the Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s acceptance of the plane from the Qatari government sparked a firestorm of controversy early in his second term, raising questions about foreign influence and security, including whether the plane could be appropriately retrofitted for classified matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to thank the emir of Qatar,\u201d Trump said Friday. \u201cHe\u2019s a fantastic guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force assures plane is safe and secure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/New-Air-Force-One-plane.jpg\")
<\/a>New Air Force One plane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe US Air Force said in a news release Friday that the \u201caircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed,\u201d the Air Force said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications.\u201d Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said last year that retrofitting the Qatari-gifted plane would probably cost less than $400 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force One serves as one of the foremost symbols of the American presidency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two large-body presidential aircraft that serve in that capacity, dubbed \u201cAir Force One\u201d whenever a president is aboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final international trip for the old plane<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Inside-new-Air-Force-One-plane-1200x675.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhite House officials paid tribute to the previous version of the plane, marked by its tail number, 29000, after Trump returned from the Group of Seven summit on the aircraft earlier this week, in what was its last international trip as Air Force One. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said it was \u201cthe last ride<\/a>,\u201d while Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a short goodbye video<\/a> to the plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt became the most famous airplane in the entire world,\u201d Trump said Friday, adding that he will likely \u201cdo the museum thing\u201d for the old plane. \u201cAge was finally catching up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current pair of planes has been in service since the 1990s. The plane that Trump aides bade adieu to on Thursday served at momentous occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the plane that President George W. Bush was aboard in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether the other 747-200B jetliner, tail number 28000, has already flown its last international leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it wasn\u2019t clear whether 29000 would still be used for domestic travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Air Force One was forced to turn back during Trump\u2019s trip to Davos, with the White House citing a \u201cminor electrical issue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump then flew instead on a\u00a0smaller plane, suggesting the second, larger one was unavailable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The plane \u2014\u00a0dubbed\u00a0by the Air Force as the VC-25B Bridge aircraft \u2014 is set to begin initial commissioning flights, following a US retrofit to adapt the aircraft for government use. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":655096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[106027,46433,8789,35290,35045,90945,58662,26844,106028],"class_list":["post-655081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-air-force-one","tag-aircraft","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-747","tag-donald-trump","tag-planes","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-qatar","tag-vc-25b-bridge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655106,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions\/655106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>The US Air Force said in a news release Friday that the \u201caircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed,\u201d the Air Force said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications.\u201d Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said last year that retrofitting the Qatari-gifted plane would probably cost less than $400 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force One serves as one of the foremost symbols of the American presidency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two large-body presidential aircraft that serve in that capacity, dubbed \u201cAir Force One\u201d whenever a president is aboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final international trip for the old plane<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhite House officials paid tribute to the previous version of the plane, marked by its tail number, 29000, after Trump returned from the Group of Seven summit on the aircraft earlier this week, in what was its last international trip as Air Force One. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said it was \u201cthe last ride<\/a>,\u201d while Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a short goodbye video<\/a> to the plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt became the most famous airplane in the entire world,\u201d Trump said Friday, adding that he will likely \u201cdo the museum thing\u201d for the old plane. \u201cAge was finally catching up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current pair of planes has been in service since the 1990s. The plane that Trump aides bade adieu to on Thursday served at momentous occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the plane that President George W. Bush was aboard in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether the other 747-200B jetliner, tail number 28000, has already flown its last international leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it wasn\u2019t clear whether 29000 would still be used for domestic travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Air Force One was forced to turn back during Trump\u2019s trip to Davos, with the White House citing a \u201cminor electrical issue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump then flew instead on a\u00a0smaller plane, suggesting the second, larger one was unavailable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The plane \u2014\u00a0dubbed\u00a0by the Air Force as the VC-25B Bridge aircraft \u2014 is set to begin initial commissioning flights, following a US retrofit to adapt the aircraft for government use. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":655096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[106027,46433,8789,35290,35045,90945,58662,26844,106028],"class_list":["post-655081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-air-force-one","tag-aircraft","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-747","tag-donald-trump","tag-planes","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-qatar","tag-vc-25b-bridge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655106,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions\/655106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhite House officials paid tribute to the previous version of the plane, marked by its tail number, 29000, after Trump returned from the Group of Seven summit on the aircraft earlier this week, in what was its last international trip as Air Force One. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said it was \u201cthe last ride<\/a>,\u201d while Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a short goodbye video<\/a> to the plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt became the most famous airplane in the entire world,\u201d Trump said Friday, adding that he will likely \u201cdo the museum thing\u201d for the old plane. \u201cAge was finally catching up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current pair of planes has been in service since the 1990s. The plane that Trump aides bade adieu to on Thursday served at momentous occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the plane that President George W. Bush was aboard in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether the other 747-200B jetliner, tail number 28000, has already flown its last international leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it wasn\u2019t clear whether 29000 would still be used for domestic travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Air Force One was forced to turn back during Trump\u2019s trip to Davos, with the White House citing a \u201cminor electrical issue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump then flew instead on a\u00a0smaller plane, suggesting the second, larger one was unavailable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The plane \u2014\u00a0dubbed\u00a0by the Air Force as the VC-25B Bridge aircraft \u2014 is set to begin initial commissioning flights, following a US retrofit to adapt the aircraft for government use. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":655096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[106027,46433,8789,35290,35045,90945,58662,26844,106028],"class_list":["post-655081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-air-force-one","tag-aircraft","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-747","tag-donald-trump","tag-planes","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-qatar","tag-vc-25b-bridge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655106,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655081\/revisions\/655106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}