Air Force Won: Boeing to slash price

The CEO of Boeing promised Donald Trump on Wednesday that his company will build two new presidential jets for less than $4 billion, following the president-elect’s outcry about the escalating price of the planes.

“We’re going to get it done for less than that, and we’re committed to working together to make sure that happens. And I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company,” Dennis Muilenburg, the aircraft giant’s chief, told reporters after a meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.

Trump took to Twitter earlier this month to blast the cost for the airplanes.

“Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” the president-elect said in a Dec. 6 tweet. Trump later said, “The plane is totally out of control. It’s going to be over $4 billion for Air Force One program and I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.”

Any plane on which the president flies is designated Air Force One.

The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2015 that the price for each jets was $3.2 billion, but analysts said it would increase to $4 billion.

“We’re all focused on the same thing here. We’re going to make sure that we give our war fighters the best capability in the world and that we do it in a way that is affordable for our taxpayers,” Muilenburg said. “And [Trump’s] business head set around that is excellent . . . Got a lot of respect for him. He’s a good man. And he’s doing the right thing.”

The new planes will be operational in the mid-2020s.