[thenry]

Donald Trump traveled to North Dakota on Wednesday for the first trip onboard the new Air Force One, a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft gifted by the Qatari government.

The US president introduced the $400m aircraft last month as the replacement for the military-grade 747-2 that has transported US presidents for more than three decades. The gifted Boeing 747-8 is expected to remain in service until the air force receives a new fleet of Boeing presidential aircraft in the next two years.

The conversion of the Qatari Boeing 747 was estimated to cost $1bn. It is intended to serve as a temporary “bridge” aircraft until two delayed presidential Boeing jets are delivered in 2027 and 2028. The projected cost of those two specially built aircrafts has increased from $3.7bn to $5bn.

The donated Qatari jet, which Qatar had previously been unable to sell, has drawn widespread criticism.

Opponents argued that the expense of converting the aircraft could take funding away from Sentinel, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) modernization program that is already several years behind schedule. Democrats have criticized the gift as being the “definition of corruption”.

Full article here https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...e-first-flight

A temporary plane damn!