President Donald Trump is apparently rejecting Boeing’s plan to delay delivery of two new aircraft to serve as presidential transports to 2029. Fox News said its sources revealed the new date and the administration isn’t happy about it. “It is ridiculous that the delivery of a new Air Force One airplane has been delayed for such a long time,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told Fox Business. “President Trump is working on identifying ways to speed up the delivery of a new place, which has been needed for a while.”
Trump made the deal with Boeing for the replacement aircraft during his last term, and the $3.9 billion fixed contract was signed in 2018. Based on the new time line, he may never ride on it. Fox says Boeing is citing supply chain and other technical delays as reasons for the delay. Boeing has also said it’s already lost $2 billion on the project, which involves the conversion of already-completed 747-8s that were supposed to go to a Russian airline that went out of business rather than starting from scratch with new airframes.
