Trump takes first flight on $400 million Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jul 1, 2026

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his first trip on his new luxe Air Force One, a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth an estimated $400 million transferred for free from the oil-rich Middle East nation of Qatar.

“I’m excited about the first flight,” he told reporters ahead of his flight to North Dakota, where he planned to tour the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

“They made it appropriate for a president, that means the security and all of the different bells and whistles they put on,” Trump added. “(It’s) very complex now, but it’s really quite something.”

Trump says the new jet, which had to be given security upgrades at a cost to taxpayers of about $400 million, will be used until new versions of the presidential jet are expected to be delivered in 2028.

The plane has raised ethical concerns because Trump and his family has significant business dealings with Qatar and Trump has said it will eventually be handed over to his presidential foundation or library, not to the U.S. government.

Qatar may also hope to use the gift as leverage in its extensive diplomatic dealings with the U.S., critics say.

“Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollars,” he said of the Qatari officials.

Trump ordered the plane spiffed up in his preferred image. Gone is the trademark light blue hull, replaced by the trademark Trump color scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes.

It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s extensive entourage deserves, including plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts.

The jet is carrying Trump to North Dakota’s Badlands where he will be the first official visitor to the new presidential library ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary. He plans to return to South Dakota on Friday to watch fireworks at Mount Rushmore.

Boeing is expected to deliver two long-delayed planes that will permanently serve as Air Force One.

But Trump claims the luxe new plane is needed in the meantime as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old jets that previously ferried him and other presidents.

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