Private plane is not an option for travel, says Secret Service
‘‘Trump Force One,’’ the president-elect’s private jet, boasts gold-plated seatbelt buckles and mohair recliners. The aircraft in which he will be entitled to travel after January 20 is blast-proof, can deflect missiles and seems superior in every possible way.
But if Donald Trump had his way, he would prefer to stick to the Boeing 757 that he bought from Paul Allen, the founder of Microsoft, in 2010. He had it retrofitted in his inimitable style, and the upholstery is embroidered with a family crest that he designed himself.
On the campaign trail, Trump said he would rather shun Air Force One and stick to the home comforts of his private jet. However, security officials say it would be ‘‘nearly functionally impossible’’ for the president to fly in anything other than the official military plane.
Trump once claimed that his jet was bigger, but Air Force One is about 47 per cent longer and wider. It is capable of flying 12,600 kilometres, compared with 7600km for the private jet.
The present Air Force One is a Boeing 747-200. It has been used by every president since George H W Bush, and is expected to stay in service for another eight years. It can seat 76 passengers and 26 crew.
Boeing has submitted designs for an updated model that would be bigger and emit less carbon, but delivery is not expected until 2024.
The gadgetry on Air Force One includes a communications system that allows the president to receive classified information during a flight.
The first presidential plane was introduced as a perk while Franklin D Roosevelt was in office, but the name Air Force One was coined only in 1953, to avoid causing confusion with commercial airliners.
The cost of retrofitting Trump Force One again to install the necessary protective technology would be prohibitive.
Trump is believed to have spent US$100 million in 2010 on the redesign, yet aviation experts now value the aircraft at no more than US$18m (NZ$25.6m).
The president-elect has said that his private plane is ‘‘very much an extension of the Trump brand’’, alongside the three helicopters he owns. One is used to shuttle guests at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, and the others made occasional appearances on the campaign trail.
It is not the end of the runway for Trump Force One, however. It would probably be used by Trump’s children, who will oversee his companies and assets while he goes about the business of running the country.
If Trump requests Secret Service protection for his family flying on board his private jet, the government would have to pay for the agents’ seats on the plane.
Trump is known to have already billed the agency about US$1.6m to travel on his jet since he was assigned a Secret Service detail a year ago.