Why Boeing's New Air Force One Planes Are More Than $2 Billion Over Budget

There has been a long history of presidential aircrafts, starting with FDR's amphibious RD-2 and leading all the way up to the current Boeing 747-200. However, ever since the USAF chose the 747-8 to replace the current Air Force One, it's been one headache after another. So much so that Elon Musk recently visited the aerospace firm to speed up the delivery process. Boeing received a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two new Air Force One aircraft. It was a fixed price that would have saved taxpayers money, so even though it has gone over budget, Boeing will foot the bill and taxpayer money will only pay the original $3.9 billion.

Boeing's previous CEO, Dave Calhoun, admitted to CNN, "Air Force One, I'm just going to call a very unique moment, a very unique negotiation. A very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn't have taken." The new plane was supposed to be delivered in 2022, but there was one delay that pushed that date back to December of 2024. However, the current president is still flying on the old 747-200 model.

Now, the two new 747-8s are delayed until 2027 or 2028 because Boeing has experienced unstable labor, engineering changes, and supply. Furthermore, there were issues with subcontractors, forcing Boeing to replace them, only adding to the delay. Moreover, the company struggled finding enough employees who could hold a security clearance. Unfortunately, setbacks like that cost time and money.

President Trump was the one who brokered the original $3.9 billion deal with Boeing, hoping the project wouldn't exceed $4 billion. It was also the president who got to choose the plane's paint scheme. He landed on a dark shade of blue for the underbelly, white for the upper half with a thick red stripe and a thin gold stripe separating the two. It looks like something a CEO would choose, which is fitting since Trump is a businessman by trade. However, when Biden was in office, he scrapped the color palette Trump wanted and went in a different direction — or rather a more familiar direction. The former president instead wanted to go with a more traditional look for the flying oval office.

One could say that President Biden was a traditionalist or he was a fan of the lighter blue paint job the current Air Force One has, but his color scheme would have been the cost-effective choice. The dark underbelly that Trump is a fan of would "...drive additional engineering, time, and cost," according to CNN. A dark paint job on the lower half of the plane could cause the temperature to rise and exceed the qualification limits for electronics that are designed to protect the plane and those aboard. However, with Trump back in the Oval Office, it appears that he has reverted back to his original idea as he cut an Air Force One-shaped cake at his inaugural ball with his color palette.

Air Force One is never a basic aircraft. Its airframe might be that of a commercially-used airplane model that people fly on a regular basis, but the meat and potatoes set it apart from its siblings, technologically and financially. The 747-200 version alone was designed with two galleys that can hold 100 passengers in a single flight, along with a presidential stateroom and midair refueling capabilities to keep Air Force One in the air indefinitely. The new 747-8, designated VC-25B, is supposed to be more advanced, so being inexpensive was never an option, especially when Boeing has to make two of them. For starters, the new plane is larger than its predecessor in every way.

It sits at 250 feet and 2 inches long with a wingspan of 224 feet and 5 inches. Comparatively, the older model is only 231 feet and 10 inches long with a 195-foot and 8-inch wingspan. The VC-25B might not have midair refueling capabilities, but it has a greater range on a full tank of fuel. It can travel 7,730 nautical miles before it needs to refuel. Boeing stripped the new plane's ability to refuel midair as a means to cut costs. It was an easy cut to stomach because it wasn't a commonly used feature.