WASHINGTON, June 19 (DC Times Online) — President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a refurbished Boeing 747-8i at Joint Base Andrews in Washington, D.C., presenting the Qatar-donated aircraft as an interim Air Force One while Boeing finishes work on the replacement presidential fleet.
The Air Force said the aircraft has completed modification and flight testing and is moving next into commissioning flights, a final phase before operational service. The service did not announce a handoff date.
The jet is intended to bridge the gap until Boeing delivers two VC-25B replacement aircraft. Until then, the aircraft will remain a federal military asset under Air Force control rather than a routine presidential transport.
Trump called the aircraft a “flying White House” during the unveiling. He said the refurbished jet had been turned into a presidential aircraft that would carry the president in place of the current fleet while the new planes are built.
The aircraft was donated by the government of Qatar and modified for presidential use by the U.S. military. The Air Force said the work is complete enough for the plane to move from testing into commissioning flights, but not yet into regular service.
The revised exterior replaces the traditional light blue-and-white presidential livery associated with the Kennedy era. The Air Force said the updated red, white and blue paint scheme will become the standard across the presidential and executive airlift fleet, including the VC-25B aircraft still under development.
That makes the donated 747-8i more than a temporary substitute. It is also the first visible example of the new look the service plans to carry forward through the next generation of presidential aircraft.
The program’s timeline has unfolded in stages. In May, the Air Force said the former Qatari 747-8 had completed modification and flight testing and was being painted in the new livery. By June 19, Trump was presenting the aircraft publicly at Andrews.
The next step is commissioning flights, which the Air Force described as the final phase before the aircraft is accepted for operational service. Those flights are meant to come before the jet is handed over for regular use by the presidential airlift mission.
The interim aircraft remains separate from Boeing’s longer-running VC-25B program. Boeing is still working on two replacement aircraft that are intended to take over the presidential role once they are delivered.
Trump also said the aircraft would participate in a July 4 flyover in Washington next year tied to the America 250 celebrations. That would put the jet in front of the public again before it enters routine presidential service.
For the Air Force, the immediate task is not a ribbon-cutting but a transition from testing to commissioning and then to operations. The aircraft has moved through donation, modification and flight testing, and the service said commissioning flights will begin before it enters operational service.
