‘World’s Most Luxurious Plane’: US President Trump unveils new Air Force One; Qatar-gifted jet looks like luxury hotel, worth Rs…

US President Donald Trump has added a newly refurbished luxury aircraft to his Air Force One fleet. The Boeing 747-8i, previously owned by the Qatari royal family, was unveiled on Friday, June 19, 2026. According to media reports, the aircraft named VC-25B Bridge by the US Air Force will begin commissioning flights before taking over presidential travel duties in the coming weeks.

The red, white, and navy blue livery of the jet replaces the pale blue exterior that has marked Air Force One since the George H W Bush administration. This design is said to have been in use for nearly 4 decades. The tail of the new luxury aircraft carries a picture of a wavy American flag. “These are the new colours red, white, and blue. We liked the baby blue, but it was time for a change… I like the colour of the American flag,” the US President said.

“Biggest difference is the difference in size,” says Trump

At an event at Joint Base Andrews, Donald Trump walked down the stairs of the newly refurbished jet to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” “The biggest difference is the difference in size. It’s like virtually double the size,” he said, drawing a comparison with the Boeing VC-25As that have operated as the presidential plane since 1990.

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Trump describes new aircraft as “World’s most luxurious plane”

Speaking of the tail design of the new jet, Trump said, “We’ve always gone with a straight little noodle, and I never loved that. Now we have a wavy, beautiful flag.” Furthermore, he described the aircraft as “the world’s most luxurious plane,” stating it was “built at a level of luxury that will probably never be seen again.” The converted Qatari jet has been in service for approximately 14 years.

Trump to take new jumbo jet to NATO summit

Trump confirmed that he would be taking the new jumbo jet to the NATO summit in Turkey next month. Meanwhile, he indicated that he would be returning to China “at some point,” apparently referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that Beijing is hosting in November.

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His return from the G7 summit in France was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, Trump added, stating, “Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”

New Air Force One to perform aerial flyover during…

Trump further stated that the new Air Force One will perform an aerial flyover during the July 4 celebrations in July. The gift from Qatar is serving as a “bridge” aircraft to carry the United States president until the new aircraft ordered directly from Boeing arrives. That is currently slated for 2028.

Why Qatar stepped in

Trump said that he turned to the Emir of Qatar for the jet following mounting frustration over delays to Boeing’s contract to build replacement Air Force One aircraft. He mentioned that the administration faced “a little bit of a logjam” while awaiting the new jet, and said he asked the Emir if the United States could use the brand-new 747 “for a little while because the planes are pretty old, our planes are old.”

The Trump administration formally accepted the Qatari-owned jumbo jet last July. Meanwhile, the Air Force has been modifying it in Texas since September to meet the security and other requirements required to carry the president. He also noted the jet had logged around 800 hours of flight time before the handover, which he described as practically “brand new.”

Upgraded at Rs 3,300 crore

Defending his decision to accept the jet as a gift from Qatar, Trump said, “A normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft. But our country has to be represented properly,” he said. The US has spent nearly $400 million (approximately Rs 3,300 crore) to make it ready for the President’s travel. 

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