WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump toured a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and highlight the aircraft maker’s delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday.
Trump visited the 13-year-old private aircraft parked at Palm Beach International Airport.
“President Trump is touring a new Boeing plane to checkout the new hardware/technology,” said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. “This highlights the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised.”
Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist and the president flies on both of the more than 30-year-old planes. Boeing Inc. has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the aircraft maker has lost billions of dollars on the project.
Delivery initially was set for 2024, but has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Trump’s final year in office — for the second, according to the U.S. Air Force.
