The new Air Force One aircraft with US President Donald Trump aboard departs for North Dakota on 1 July 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. [Getty]
President Donald Trump is taking his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One on Wednesday—a retrofitted Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the US presidency.
Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump’s preferred colour scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have—plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood panelling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.
Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.
The jet is carrying Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The $400 million gift by Qatar raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement for the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.
“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said.
The new jet will only be in the nation’s service temporarily, as Boeing is expected to deliver long-delayed planes in 2028 that will permanently serve as Air Force One. Trump, a Republican, has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.
The US Air Force has said it made few changes to the plane’s cabin layout and spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.
