US president Donald Trump is in discussions with the Qatar royal family to receive a 747-8Z5 luxury aircraft, according to CBS News. The plane would be used for the presidential Air Force One. Reports have described the Qatar aircraft as a “palace in the sky”.
Qatar denied the 747 would be a gift in a statement. Instead, the statement said discussions were being held for the aircraft to be transferred for temporary use.
However, while Trump concurred that the aircraft would be for temporary use, he has claimed differently it to be a gift via his own social media platform ‘Truth’.
“The fact that the Defense Department is getting a gift, free of charge, of a 747 to replace the 40 year old Air Force One temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the crooked Democrats, that they insist we pay top dollar for the plane,” he read in his post.
During his previous presidency, in July 2018, Trump's office finalised a $3.9bn deal with Boeing for two 747-8 aircraft to replace the aging Air Force One fleet. Work was expected to begin on the plane in 2021 with both aircraft expected to be “mission-ready” by 2024.
In February, Trump criticised Boeing onboard the Air Force One fleet, stating that he was “looking for other alternatives” for the Air Force One fleet.
“I’m not happy with Boeing,” said Trump at the time. “We gave them that contract a long time ago, a fixed price contract and I’m not happy with the fact that it has taken them so long.”
The White House had confirmed a few days prior that the new jets had been delayed to 2027 or 2028, potentially even further.
Trump did confirm that he would not choose an Airbus aircraft over one from Boeing, stating that he could buy a used aircraft instead. “I could get one from another country and convert it,” he added.
Boeing has largely been grappling with its safety and production issues, which came to a head after the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident in January 2024, where a door plug blew out shortly after takeoff on a 737 MAX 9 jet. Amid regulatory oversight and probing, the company also had to contend with seven week-long machinist strike, from September to November last year, further delaying production.
The company has made a sharp turnaround, however, ramping up deliveries this year and promising to reach its 38 per month FAA-imposed production cap on the 737 MAX family jets this year, aiming to up its cap to 42 per month this year. Subsequent cap lifts are expected to follow soon after the first lift.