U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, July 1, 2026.
Finn Gomez | Getty Images
President Donald Trump will depart on his maiden voyage on the new Air Force One on Wednesday. Air Force One is a $400 million refurbished Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that will further integrate the president’s personality into the American presidential system.
Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump’s favorite color scheme, with a navy underbelly and red and gold stripes. A reported tour of the plane said the plane was equipped with luxurious amenities that the president thought the commander-in-chief’s inner circle should have, including plush carpeting, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and presidential seals on the seatbelts.
President Trump told reporters he was proud of the luxury plane. “There are two things you can do: you can be subtle or you can show it off,” he says.
The jet will carry President Trump to North Dakota to tour the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, his first official visit ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The new Air Force One aircraft carrying US President Donald Trump will depart from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for North Dakota on July 1, 2026.
Finn Gomez | Getty Images
Although the gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, President Trump considered the plane a necessary replacement for the 35-year-old plane he had previously taken into office.
“This is a gift from a country that has treated us well,” Trump said.
The new jet will only be in service with the nation temporarily. boeing plans to deliver the long-delayed aircraft, which will permanently function as Air Force One, in 2028. Republican President Trump has said in the past that the Qatari plane would eventually end up in the presidential library.
The Air Force said it made few changes to the plane’s cabin layout and spent less than $400 million on security improvements.
