Air Force One will get flag-inspired paint job

Forget John F. Kennedy’s baby blue: The next version of Air Force One will be painted in the colors of the American flag, according to President Donald Trump.

“It’s going to be the top of the line, the top in the world,” Trump told CBS. “And it’s going be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate.”

The new paint job for a global symbol of U.S. power would replace the blue, light blue and white color scheme that dates to the Kennedy era. Trump put the spotlight on Air Force One shortly before taking office when he criticized Boeing for the expense of the converted 747 jumbo jets. He later reached an agreement with the planemaker and took credit for lowering the cost.

“Boeing gave us a good deal. And we were able to take that,” Trump said in comments that aired Tuesday, confirming an Axios report last week on the presidential plane’s new look. “But I said, ‘I wonder if we should use the same baby blue colors?’ And we’re not.”

Boeing agreed in February to a $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force to modify two 747-8 aircraft to update the presidential transport. The jets had been built for a Russian airline that went bankrupt in 2015.

The military version of the 747, which the Air Force designates the VC-25, is dubbed Air Force One whenever the commander-in-chief is aboard. It is heavily modified to support the president and staff for extended periods aloft, and is equipped with an advanced communications system, self-defense capabilities and other features that add to the cost.

The humpbacked 747, with a list price of a little more than $400 million, has fallen out of favor as a passenger jetliner. New models typically are used as freighters.