Trump departs Joint Base Andrews on Qatar-gifted Boeing 747 in first presidential flight

President Trump departed Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday aboard a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, marking the first presidential flight on an interim Air Force One brought into service while the U.S.-built VC-25B replacement jets remain under construction.

The Qatari royal family donated the Boeing 747-8 to the U.S. Department of Defense in May 2025 as an unconditional gift. The Air Force said the aircraft would begin initial commissioning flights to evaluate modifications before regular presidential transport. Wednesday's departure to the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library opening was the first presidential flight on the aircraft, though it's not confirmed whether it was formally the first of those commissioning flights. Trump said the new U.S.-manufactured VC-25B jets are roughly two years away. "Our Air Force One was 35, 36 years old, and it would be parked next to the new ones like this, and it really didn't look appropriate for our country," he said on the tarmac.

Trump framed the arrangement as a practical solution to a procurement gap, saying the upgrade cost taxpayers "very little relative to what it would cost if we did it a different way." He described Qatar as a U.S. ally in the Middle East. Qatar's Emir offered the roughly $400 million jet outright. "The Emir Tamim, who's a great gentleman, he said, 'No, no, I'd like to make a contribution to the country,'" Trump said. The aircraft was brought up to presidential standards, including security modifications, in about five months.

Ethics and national security watchdogs have raised concerns that a foreign-provided presidential platform could create perceived leverage over U.S. decision-making. The Project On Government Oversight has specifically warned that the gift raises ethics and security concerns about foreign influence and sets a troubling precedent for presidential aircraft procurement norms. The arrangement also draws scrutiny from aerospace-workforce advocates who argue that relying on a foreign-donated aircraft sidelines U.S. manufacturing at a moment when the domestic industry is already under pressure from the VC-25B delays. The White House, the Department of Defense, and the Air Force have not issued public statements directly addressing those ethics and security criticisms.

Trump unveiled the jet at Joint Base Andrews before Wednesday's flight, describing it as a bridge solution. "So the head of Boeing said this is considered the best 747 they've ever built," he said. "I went to Qatar. I said, I'd like to use it for a period of time because the other ones, as you know, are under construction."