Turning Qatari 747 into Air Force One could cost $1 billion and take years, experts say

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Plane has been available on an unprotected runway for a long time for various groups to plant spyware and tracking devices. This plane may have to stripped down to the frame to check for extra hardware/spyware. It will NOT be cheap to get this plane to be ready to be Air Force One.

Link to tweet

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/turning-qatari-747-air-force-one-cost-1-billion-take-years-experts-say-rcna206582

Converting a Qatari-owned 747 jet into a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump would involve installing multiple top-secret systems, cost over $1 billion and take years to complete, three aviation experts told NBC News.

They said that accepting the 13-year-old jet would likely cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, noting that refurbishing the commercial plane would exceed its current value of $400 million. The project might also not be completed by the end of Trump’s term in 2029, at which time the plane is expected to be handed over to Trump’s presidential library foundation.

Richard Aboulafia, an analyst and consultant on commercial and military aviation, said he thought turning the Qatari jetliner into Air Force One would cost billions and take years.

“You’re taking a 747, disassembling it, reassembling it, and then jacking it up to a very high level,” said Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, a consulting firm......

The Qatari jumbo jet would have to be effectively dismantled, part by part, to ensure there were no listening devices, spyware or other security vulnerabilities that could allow foreign powers to eavesdrop on the president’s plane.

It would then have to be fitted with costly, sophisticated systems for secure government communications, midair refueling, missile defense, countering electronic jamming and protecting against electro-magnetic pulse attack. There would likely need to be quarters added for White House medical staff and the Secret Service.

[Kid Berwyn]

1. But if it makes him happy...

...let the boy have it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. This makes me smile

[bottomofthehill]

2. Its kind of like giving someone a $25.00 gift card to the Capitol Grill.

Its going to cost you $250 to use it.

[Deuxcents]

3. Yeah, and the Qataris know it and are having a good time dangling this gold bling in front of him

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. I've said this a few times over the last 36 hours.

Here, here, and here.

I guarantee the toddler in chief thinks they can turn what is essentially the worlds largest private jet into an Air Force 1 capable aircraft in a few weeks.

He is throwing a tantrum because he wants the new airplanes to be ready NOW and he thinks if he just gets this obscene flying palace, it will work just fine.

[JPK]

6. I say...

Let him have it and have it now. No mods for security, no refueling capabilities, lack of self defense stuff. Yeah, give it to him now. Lots of manpads in the middle east, just say'in.

[highplainsdem]

5. And wouldn't much of that sophisticated tech have to be removed later, before the plane was

given to Trump's library?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. Maddow Blog-Among the problems with Trump's 'free' luxury jet from Qatar: It's not actually free

Even if the jet from Qatar were free, this arrangement would still be a legal and ethical mess. But the free plane also wouldn’t be free.

Even if the luxury jet from Qatar were free, this "gift" would still be a legal and ethical mess. But there's a related problem:

The free plane would cost American taxpayers a fortune.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-05-14T12:53:41.846Z

Even if the luxury jet from Qatar were free, this "gift" would still be a legal and ethical mess. But there's a related problem:

The free plane would cost American taxpayers a fortune.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-trum

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-trumps-free-luxury-jet-qatar-s-not-actually-free-rcna206706

Even if the luxury jet were free, this arrangement would still be a legal, ethical and political mess. But there’s a related problem: The “free” plane wouldn’t be free. NBC News reported:

Converting a Qatari-owned 747 jet into a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump would involve installing multiple top-secret systems, cost over $1 billion and take years to complete, three aviation experts told NBC News. They said that accepting the 13-year-old jet would likely cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, noting that refurbishing the commercial plane would exceed its current value of $400 million.

Politico had a related report that noted it “could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars” to retrofit Qatar’s “gift” into a makeshift Air Force One.

“This isn’t really a gift,” said Rep. Joe Courtney told Politico. The Connecticut Democrat, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and helps oversee its panel on executive airlift, added, “You’d basically have to tear the plane down to the studs and rebuild it to meet all the survivability, security and communications requirements of Air Force One. It’s a massive undertaking — and an unfunded one at that.”

In other words, when Trump says the jet from Qatar would be “FREE OF CHARGE,” it’s true that it would be free for him — the president wouldn’t have to reach for his own wallet — but it wouldn’t be free to us, the American taxpayers.....

Soon after Schumer’s comments, Senate Democrats tried to advance a resolution that condemned “any acceptance of a Presidential aircraft, or any other substantial gift, from a foreign government as a grave national security threat to the Office of the President” and demanded that such a gift could only be accepted with the approval of Congress.

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama blocked the measure.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, who introduced the resolution, said, “I remain flabbergasted that this thing is not going to pass. I remain completely aghast. This is the most blatant, obvious, ridiculous, gross corruption that I’ve ever seen in my entire life — by dollar amount, by symbolism, by violating constitutional and statutory law.”

[delisen]

16. A White Elephant plane for head of White Elephant Party !

Seems to me like a suitable gift.

[Brainfodder]

8. Are you suggesting it will be CONVENIENTLY just ready in time for him to leave DC in 2029 to hide in until he croaks?

Oh maybe just me.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. If this plane has a ton of secret technology, how can trump as a private citizen be allowed to use it?

trump wants to use this plan after he leaves office. At that time, this plane will be full of top secret technology

[Brainfodder]

12. Exactly why he wants and why he shouldn't have.

He could disappear himself to never "die"?

He today gone tomorrow and no grave to have fun with?

Speaking of which was that one on his Bedminster resort disturbed, last I saw it had overgrowth vanishing it?

On the + side any phones or 1 air tag could render that plane tracking available?

[Eugene]

9. ... and who do they propose to covert the planes other than Boeing?

It's the same conversion that Boeing is mired in, except the conversion starts with a 13-year-old aircraft.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. A plane that may be full of listening and other spyware devices

Boing may have to take this plane apart to confirm that there is no spyware hidden. I guess that Noem could inspect the plane as part of her cosplaying

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. Anderson Cooper delivers a BRUTAL reality check to Trump about accepting a "free" luxury jet from Qatar

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump

This plane has been on the market for five years and there are no buyers. This plane uses a ton of fuel and can only land on special runways. trump is bailing out a member of the royal family by taking a plane that is not marketable.

"Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump"

"There may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore."

@jeremybogaisky.bsky.social for @forbes.com

— Zach Everson (@zacheverson.com) 2025-05-15T17:36:13.733Z

Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump"

"There may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore."

Link to tweet

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump

The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world, has been quietly getting rid of some of its biggest planes. It may have found the perfect taker for one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets in President Donald Trump, who has been frustrated with the multi-year delays in replacing Air Force One.,....

The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020, according to an archived listing. Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs, aviation experts told Forbes. Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.

Qatar, which has given away another blinged-out 747 and may have mothballed two more, epitomizes the fading demand for these huge, fuel-guzzling, highly personalized airplanes. There aren’t many who want to buy them, and many of the governments and royal families who own them have been trying to ditch them over the past decade.

“Qatar, like many modern states, is shifting toward leaner, more versatile aircraft, which offer better economics and more discreet presence for official travel,” Linus Bauer, managing director of the Dubai-based aviation consulting firm BAA & Partners, told Forbes. Giving the plane to Trump would be “a creative disposal strategy” that marks “a farewell to a bygone model of geopolitical theater in the skies.”.....

Beyond poor fuel efficiency, large ostentatious planes are a security risk, notes Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant with Aerodynamic Advisory. “These things are big targets.” And bigger planes can only land on longer runways, limiting their usage. “There are a lot more airports you can get into if you have a narrowbody, and many more still if you have a traditional business jet,” he said......

Giving the 747-8 to the U.S. would also allow the Qataris to avoid maintenance costs that are only getting higher with the 747 fleet shrinking worldwide and fewer mechanics available who know how to work on them, said John Goglia, a former airline mechanic and member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The 2020 sales brochure noted that the plane was due for a landing gear overhaul in 2024 and a 12-year check in 2027. A check in which the airplane and engines are taken apart, typically carried out every six to 12 years, can take months to complete and cost millions of dollars. “The numbers are staggering,” said Goglia.

[bif]

17. Doesn't matter

It'll be donated to the Trump Library before he leaves office. Then he'll be able to keep it for his own use. Problem solved!