Trump declares war on Boeing for the new Air Force One model.

Barely a month has passed since Donald Trump returned to the White House. In this short period, the new president has already had time to threaten to buy Greenland and the Panama Canal, fantasize about turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” and call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator,” blaming him for starting the war.

Now, his focus seems to be on Boeing, the aerospace multinational that, among other things, manufactures the presidential plane, Air Force One. While traveling on one of the current planes (35 years old), the president criticized the delay in the construction and delivery of two new units. The contract was negotiated during Trump’s first term (2017-2021), in which the company agreed to deliver two updated units of the presidential plane based on the Boeing 747-8.

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However, delays in the timeline are infuriating Trump, to the point that he is considering other alternatives. “No, I’m not happy with Boeing. It’s taking them too long, you know, Air Force One, we awarded that contract a long time ago. We could buy a plane or get a plane, or something like that,” he told reporters.

What is completely ruled out, Trump assures, is opting for a direct competitor, Airbus. “No, I wouldn’t consider Airbus over Boeing, but I could buy a used one (Boeing or another provider except Airbus) and modify it,” he added.

These words come after Donald Trump himself visited a 13-year-old Boeing 747-800 (the largest commercial plane ever built in the U.S.) that had belonged to the Qatari royal family, while it was parked at Palm Beach Airport. Initially, the delivery was expected in 2024, but now it is pushed to 2027 or even 2028 (the final year of Trump’s current term).

Logistical Delays

In his first term, Donald Trump forced Boeing to renegotiate the contract, as he considered that the initial agreement was too expensive. This renegotiation has cost Boeing billions, leading to its worst year since 2020 (during the pandemic): losing $11.8 billion in 2024. One of the biggest challenges the company faces is adapting its aircraft to meet the communication, security, and accessibility needs of a presidential plane.

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But the problems don’t stop there. According to a U.S. government official who spoke to Reuters, there have also been supply chain issues, with some aircraft parts manufacturers shutting down. Additionally, changing requirements have further complicated the project. One of the latest modifications is the removal of a key feature—Trump has eliminated the requirement that the new generation of planes (known as VC-25B) be capable of mid-air refueling, a feature that the current VC-25A models, designed during the Cold War, still have.

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The Air Force One, it should be noted, does not refer to a specific aircraft but rather is the official designation for any U.S. Air Force plane carrying the president. This term was created in 1954, after a flight carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airliner with the same flight number.