WASHINGTON, June 19 (DC Times Online) — President Donald Trump unveiled a refurbished Boeing 747-8i at Joint Base Andrews in Washington, D.C., on Friday, putting the aircraft on track to serve as an interim Air Force One while Boeing continues work on two new presidential jets.
The aircraft, donated by the government of Qatar and modified for presidential use, is meant to bridge the gap until the replacement VC-25B planes enter service. The U.S. Air Force said the aircraft will begin commissioning flights before it is cleared for operational use.
Trump called the jet a ‘flying White House’ as he showed it off at the base. The plane has been presented as a temporary addition to the presidential airlift fleet, not as the final Boeing replacement program that has been delayed for years.
The unveiling marked the latest public step in a project that the Air Force said had already moved through major modification and testing work. In May, the service said the former Qatari Boeing 747-8 had completed modifications and flight testing and was being painted in a red, white and blue livery.
That paint scheme replaces the traditional light blue-and-white look associated with the Kennedy era. Air Force officials said the updated exterior would become the standard across the presidential and executive airlift fleet, including the VC-25B aircraft now under development.
Commissioning flights are the next stage. The Air Force described them as the final phase of testing before the aircraft can enter operational service, a step meant to validate the upgraded systems and confirm the jet is ready for presidential transport missions.
That distinction matters for a fleet that carries the president and other top U.S. officials on tightly controlled military flights. Even after a public unveiling, the aircraft still has to complete the final testing phase before it can be used in routine service.
The Air Force first said in early May that the plane had finished modification and flight testing, and NPR later reported that the service expected it to be ready for Trump that summer. Bloomberg reported that the aircraft was planned for delivery to the Presidential Airlift Group in the summer of 2026.
The White House expects the refurbished jet to serve as a bridge until Boeing delivers the new VC-25B aircraft, CNBC reported. The reporting said those replacement planes are expected in 2028, though the timing has varied across public reports.
The move keeps a major presidential transportation project moving through its staged rollout: acquisition, modification, flight testing, commissioning flights and, eventually, operational service. For the Air Force, the aircraft is now beyond the build phase and into the final checks needed before it can join the active fleet.
The new jet also reflects a broader shift in how the presidential and executive airlift fleet will look. Air Force officials said the red, white and blue paint scheme will be applied across the fleet, including the Boeing replacement aircraft under development.
The aircraft’s debut at Andrews placed the project directly in the Washington area, where federal aviation and military operations intersect with presidential travel planning. The jet remains under federal control as it moves through the last stage before service, with commissioning flights set to determine whether it is ready for operational use.
Bloomberg reported that the aircraft was donated by Qatar and described by Trump as a luxury-laden presidential aircraft. BBC reported an estimated value of about $400 million, citing the cost of the military modifications.
For now, the refurbished Boeing 747-8i stands as a temporary Air Force One solution while the permanent Boeing replacements remain in development, with the Air Force moving the aircraft from testing into the final commissioning phase before it can fly as part of the presidential fleet.
