Trump unveils new Air Force One converted from luxury jet gifted by Qatar
Key takeaways
- US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a new Air Force One converted from a former Qatari-owned Boeing 747, calling it a "flying White House" while touting the aircraft's luxury interior.
- By: FRANCE 24 US President Donald Trump gestures as he tours the VC-25B aircraft gifted by Qatar that will be used as Air Force One, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, June 19, 2026.
- The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a new Air Force One converted from a former Qatari-owned Boeing 747, calling it a "flying White House" while touting the aircraft's luxury interior. The plane will serve as a temporary replacement as presidential jets ordered directly from Boeing have been delayed until 2028.
By: FRANCE 24 US President Donald Trump gestures as he tours the VC-25B aircraft gifted by Qatar that will be used as Air Force One, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, June 19, 2026. © Elizabeth Frantz, Reuters US President Donald Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned jumbo jet that has been converted into the official US presidential aircraft.
The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane's left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.