Even MAGA Is Up in Arms Over Trump’s ‘Flying Grift’ From Qatar

[jerrymahoney]

My last 4 trips RT to USA on Korean were on 747 Seoul to Atlanta.

The last 3 upper deck business all recently outfitted. I spoke with one of the attendants who said she hated the 747 compared to Airbus 380: while the cabin is nice the galley was still 1970's

But that was all pre-Covid up to 2019 and now Korean is retiring their last 4 747's.

[LosLobo]

7 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

They likely did -- Qatar has been trying to sell it since 2020 and probably were the other 7.

Trump has said AF One is a prestige item and he is embarrassed with the old crate.

But he may be wanting to start off with a lemon needing huge overhaul.

The aircraft in question is 13 years old and would require an estimated $1 billion in upgrades to meet Air Force standards. It is unlikely to be ready for use during President Trump’s current term.
 

At the same time, Boeing is converting two new 747-8 aircraft into VC-25Bs — the military variant of the 747-8 and the designated replacement for Air Force One. However, the program is behind schedule, with the aircraft not expected to be operational before 2027 or 2028.
 

Given the age of the Qatari aircraft, the substantial cost of retrofitting, and the timeline involved, waiting for the VC-25Bs remains the most secure and cost-effective course of action.

[mogandave]

12 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

My last 4 trips RT to USA on Korean were on 747 Seoul to Atlanta.

The last 3 upper deck business all recently outfitted. I spoke with one of the attendants who said she hated the 747 compared to Airbus 380: while the cabin is nice the galley was still 1970's

But that was all pre-Covid up to 2019 and now Korean is retiring their last 4 747's.

I loved the upper deck on the 747, and I got bumped to first with my wife on Thai and got to fly in the nose. Smoothest, quietest ride ever. 

 

I like the 380 business better, but the eco blows. I spoiled flying Emirates business to Dubai every other month for a few years, and to the US a couple times. Best service ever. 

 

Flew Asiana 380s to the US a couple times, okay id a bit spartan. 

 

Korean 747 service was great.

[jerrymahoney]

When I was flying for commercial reasons starting late 1980's I would get the upper deck on United 747 because it was the only smoke-free part of the airplane as the air pressure would keep the smoke fumes down on the main level.

[BLMFem]

Look, we all know why he yearns for the Qatari 747. It's filled to the brim with golden ornaments, bathroom fittings and a toilet/throne made of gold.

He desperately wants a Pimp Force One to complement the Pimp Den (formerly the Oval Office).

[josephbloggs]

On 5/12/2025 at 2:43 PM, bkk6060 said:

A person must be very ignorant if they really think he will take that plane.  

This comment didn't age well did it. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq855lx87z3o

[MicroB]

14 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

This comment didn't age well did it. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq855lx87z3o

 

 

But its never going to fly again, at least with passengers.

 

The USAF still has some final due diligence to go through before final acceptance.

 

Now budget has already been allocated to the two AF1s under construction, so new budget has to be allocated; does the DoD have a slash fund for such projects, or does there need to be congressional approval or something.

 

Before all that, they need to decide how much money is needed. They need to survey this aircraft, which is an unknown unit to the Air Force. Its been on the market since 2020, and essentially unused for most of that time, and seems to have sat for some time on the Isle of Man. While it will undoubtedly come with a pile of paperwork proving condition, I suspect USAF engineers will employ very high standards, to see if the aircraft does have any inherant faults. That's going to take some time, and they'll probably need to hire outside contractors just to do that. So that job will be put out to tender, after a committee has sat around a table to draw up the tender.

 

Say in 3 months, they have an idea what exactly they have. Along the way, someone has to decide what do they want; and this will get contentious.

 

At the one  end of the spectrum is a fully specced out plane the same as what is being built right now. But besides cost, two of the reasons the new AF1s are delayed is lack of security cleared engineers and shortages in the supply chain; nothing is off the shelf. If they pull engineers off the current AF1 projects, then these new builds will be further delayed. Adding a 3rd aircraft will put further strain on the supply chain, unless they mothball the other projects and focus just on this.

 

The other end of the spectrum is do nothing; te plane was good enough for the Emir of Qatar, its good enough for a US President.

 

The 2020 For Sale ad gives some idea of the configuration of the aircraft

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200905142708/https://www.amacaerospace.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200707_AMAC_Aerospace_Mini_Tech_Spec.pdf

 

Clearly, its built for luxury travel, with lavish sleeping facilties, galleys, bathrooms.

 

In comparison, actual AF1 seems much more functional

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq855lx87z3o

 

AF1 is supposed to be an airborne command post; capable of in flight refueling , and carrying enough stores to sustain the passengers for a sustained period. On the contrary, Qatari 1 probably wasn't intended to fly more than 14-15 hours at a time, and fridges aboard to carry enough camel heads for the feasts, generally eaten while grovelling on a floor, albeit a nicely carpeted floor. AF1 is supposed to carry 7 days worth of food for 102 people; about 300-350kgs of food

 

I assume the sustainability requirements are not up for discussion. Adding refueling to the aircraft I suppose is a big job, but not without precedence given used airliners being converted to tankers.

 

AF1 has hardened electronics, meaning the miles and miles of wiring, and hardware have an additional coating to protect against the effects of EMP, such as following a nuclear blast. Does Qatari 1 need this? That's the risk assessment. The hazard is the President's plane becoming a dead stick following an attack. Is it likely over the next 4 years? There will be a range of opinions. This is where there will be people in the room trying to minimize the risk score artificially. I've been in the rooms where these sorts of discussions occur about new military kit, and frequently "ALARPS" is used, which is weasel code for cutting corners.

 

AF1 is also armour plated; on the engines, and the fuselage. For this to be fitted, I assume the aircraft really does need to be stripped back. Could they forgo that, or is there an alternative ballistic solution that is "good enough" (the president has a 40% survivability compared to, say, 70%).

 

Importantly, AF1 has a fully equipped medical suite, with the ability to support surgery in flight (meaning the aircraft also has accomodation for a surgeon, in addition the the President's own physician). Qatari1 does have certification for a medical suite, if the Emir's bedroom is cleared out (certification obtained during COVID), but that's little more than a hospital bed, and room for some monitors and an oxygen bottle. Again, the next discussion is whether they need the full fat mini-hospital or just a bed, for a morbidly obesse octogenarian. Vance, take note, this might be your shot.

 

Comms; its a flying communication centre, allowing members of the government to communicate reliably and securely, and enabling a president to take that most terrible of decisions. I've see talk of passengers of Qatari1 having to use burner phones. Again, a decision might have be taken whether you need something that is good enough, basically fitted into a strapped down Pelican case. But then you are at risk endangering the United States if an enemy calculates  that a First Strike wouldn't be met a return attack based on an estimation that comms to or from AF1 could be disrupted.

 

What else could they use Qatari1 for? I suspect a popular choice would be to convert it to ConAir-1; a mega flying prison for all the deportees, MS-13 members, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and any other malcontents. While the actual JPATS aircraft are just regular (clapped out) 737s, a President might like the idea of a plane with actual cages, for all those Hannibal Lectars, because it looks tough. You could probably fit it out for 400 "regular" passengers, 100 more in Hannibal cages and 100 tooled up guards.

 

Current prison transport

 

 

Cages, or some of that double decker seating to sequeeze in 1000 of them

 

Or the cheap option, rip out the fittings, sling in troop seating.

 

 

 

2029, the President can get the plane back, the original fittings are in the skip at the back.

[CallumWK]

19 hours ago, LosLobo said:

At the same time, Boeing is converting two new 747-8 aircraft into VC-25Bs — the military variant of the 747-8 and the designated replacement for Air Force One. However, the program is behind schedule, with the aircraft not expected to be operational before 2027 or 2028.
 

Given the age of the Qatari aircraft, the substantial cost of retrofitting, and the timeline involved, waiting for the VC-25Bs remains the most secure and cost-effective course of action.

So in short, it would require a huge budget and time to transform the plane and use it for maybe 2 years until the new AF one planes are scheduled to be delivered.

 

I thought MAGA was about cutting the government waste of money.

 

Promises made, promises kept. NOT?