Recently, President Trump took delivery of “his” new Air Force One, a “flying palace” that’s a $400 million gift from Qatar. It’s a plane he’s very proud of, and despite the fact that a massive number of taxpayer dollars have gone into retrofitting this plane, it’s one that will go into his Presidential Library when he leaves office, rather than staying with the Air Force.
Well, just weeks after this plane entered service, Trump has already planned a trip on the old Air Force One… and his logic is questionable, to put it politely.
In this post:
Trump flies old Air Force One to honor military, for “old time’s sake”
President Trump is in Turkey this week for a summit with NATO. He flew there on the new Air Force One jet, as you’d expect. However, he has taken to social media to announce that he won’t actually be flying back on that plane, at least for the initial flight out of Turkey. As he explained:
To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft — Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first. For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!
I must say that seems mighty selfless of Trump, no? He’s willing to make the sacrifice of not flying on his new plane so that members of the military can tour the plane?
Trump has claimed that “this plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before,” and that this would allow the United States to be “represented properly.”
Obviously this is about aircraft safety, not kindness
It seems pretty clear to me what’s going on here, and that he’s fibbing… to put it politely. Let’s step back for a moment. There are two new Boeing 747-8s that are currently being configured to act as the new Air Force One. They’re many, many years behind schedule, and billions of dollars over budget.
That’s because the planes that act as Air Force One and carry the president are supposed to be equipped with all kinds of safety features, and that’s a major project.
Of course Trump grew tired of delays with the new Air Force One, since he reportedly often pointed out how outdated the old Air Force One was. With the delays, it became clear that he likely wouldn’t get to fly the new planes before he’s supposed to leave office in early 2029. So that caused him to want to rush the new Air Force One into service, and the plane joined the Air Force fleet only a year after the gift from Qatar was first announced.
It goes without saying that major shortcuts were made when it comes to the safety equipment on the plane. After all, if all the standard Air Force One safety equipment could be installed within a year, then we wouldn’t see such big delays with the initial planes intended to act as Air Force One, and there would’ve been no need for this special “gift” from Qatar.
It sure seems like no coincidence that Trump has just announced that the ceasefire with Iran is off, and now he can no longer fly his new plane in a region that’s not too far from a potential conflict zone. After all, he’s only flying the old Air Force One jet as far as the UK, and then he’s taking his new one, in an area where there’s no risk.
Obviously the lack of safety equipment isn’t an issue when flying between Washington and Florida, but for international trips that go beyond Western Europe, seems to me like the new Air Force One may prove impractical. Something tells me this won’t be Trump’s last trip where he makes such a sacrifice to honor our military…
Bottom line
Trump has announced that he will be flying on the old Air Force One jet rather than the new Air Force One jet when departing on his current Turkey trip. According to him, it’s to honor the military, so that those in the United Kingdom can tour the plane, making it sound like he’s making a big sacrifice.
In reality, it’s pretty clear what’s going on — the new Air Force One doesn’t have the standard safety equipment, given that it was rushed into service, so it’s not advisable for him to fly that plane in the region, given the current conflict with Iran.
I think Trump’s new Qatari gift is the definition of style over substance…
Yes, very hard to believe anything he says, and this is dubious on the face of it. Most likely, we have foreign influence and corruption, a major taxpayer funded renovation, no actual utility to the US government at all, and breaching every norm while ruining things for the rest of us (what could all that money have been used for instead?).
Oh well, par for the course for the maga regime!
I am happily surprised from you audience Ben. They clearly show they are awake and aware of just about everything wrong being done by Trump, his family and administration. Yes he lies, that is true, he did so many times, now most of the planet's people do not believe anything he says. He has earned that.
And I have never heard any US president ever call another countries leaders "scum" on TV. We are in a new realm, more people are realizing this.
What? Trump lied? Next thing you'll be telling us water is wet and air is good. Shocking I tell you, shocking.
This “president” is a complete liar! How much of our tax dollars went to embellish this flying bribe?
《it’s one that will go into his Presidential Library when he leaves office, rather than staying with the Air Force.》I know that's the speculation and it is likely Trump's plan. But, has there ever been anything official said to this effect? I don't see a Dem "48" (really, 46) allowing it.
The Trump Crime Syndicate will end (mostly) when he is out - no way the future 2028 Dem Prez allows it.
As someone who lives on the other side of the world, it's always amazing to see the fine folks in the comment section wishing death on a world leader, while acting like they're better than everyone else. It's exactly the kind of rhetoric that gets you guys what you deserve. Be better. If you don't like someone, vote them out - don't wish death on them - you make this world so much darker by...
As someone who lives on the other side of the world, it's always amazing to see the fine folks in the comment section wishing death on a world leader, while acting like they're better than everyone else. It's exactly the kind of rhetoric that gets you guys what you deserve. Be better. If you don't like someone, vote them out - don't wish death on them - you make this world so much darker by your attitude. (and don't say Trump can't be voted out, he's gonna stay - you said that the last time and he left for four years while the next guy ruined things)
Yeah, that's fair (/s), if you ignore January 6, 2021, though you probably think it was just the FBI.
Why dont you just "lying"? Anytime this guy's lips move, he is lying.
Dubious:
. . . or simply, once a liar, always a liar?! ;-)
Turning the truth, to his advantage is exactly his method, as always!
This might be reason No.1 why an entire economy or nation is going down.
Wait and see (more).
He “saved America” and that is why he gets to keep his plane after he leaves office.
Stop posting political topics. This used to be a blog about miles.
Stop gatekeeping what Ben posts; ignore the posts you don’t like, or engage/debate/banter with the rest of us on-topic or otherwise.
As always, there is a nice fresh opening for Conservative Travel Blog. We are missing the Best of Daytona, Galveston, and Joplin!
Lots of noise as usual. Here's the real, truthful story, which is mostly as reported in the post, unless AI too has 'TDS' and truth has a 'libtard' bias...
Q: Why did Trump fly back from Ankara on old Air Force
Lots of noise as usual. Here's the real, truthful story, which is mostly as reported in the post, unless AI too has 'TDS' and truth has a 'libtard' bias...
Q: Why did Trump fly back from Ankara on old Air Force
Seems like a HUGE waste of money and emissions to send two 747s to a summit for just 1 President. But then Donny has no issue with weeing cash up against the wall....
there is always a backup plane on hand, when a US president travels!
Nothing special to Trump!
Is this Mr. Lifetime Hilton Reserve?
DCS, appreciate the facts! It's surly lacking sometimes in this space, but full of emotions.
STEFFL, another solid fact apparently not many know.
Lucky, your articles are just getting dumber and dumber. I loved this blog when it was actually about travel and points and miles, now its just a bunch of nonsense click bait articles...
I agree--the TDS on here and other travel blogs is over the top... If President Trump could cure cancer tomorrow--the libatards would still complain and be upset!!!
It really is a shame to give the 25% of Americans burdened with Trump Delusion Syndrome any reason to blame the rest of the world for their impairment. Still, I must agree, there is no reason to have an article like this in a travel blog.
that argument simply doesn't fly. I don't like Trump but I give him credit for the development of the COVID vaccines, prison reform and bringing Saudi and Israel together. I want him to succeed but now it's all about scorched earth and payback to his enemies. Trump 2.0 has put a system in place where no opportunity exists to cure cancer. That's what you are missing.
The first Covid vaccine is by Turkish-German founders in Germany at BionTech, sold to you Muricans as "Pfizer" because Murica
Trump the idiot has developed covid vaccine? God...
He barely travels anymore as he got a family now.
Frankly the blog is done but then he'd have to actually look for a real job for the first time in his life, which sucks. So this will get milked into obscurity. Pages views must keep going down frankly with all the junk content. Been with the blog since day 1 but with Covid it's purpose ended and never came back frankly
Boy, dayum son, those are some DEEP cuts. Maybe lighten up a little and just claim ‘TDS’ or whatever. Like, you gonna insult dead parents next? Cold-blooded. Thassum back-stabbing, under-the-bus stuff righ-thurr.
Slow day in Miami. The old Air Force ones provide more protection. Move on
Of course Trump isn’t tell the truth about this absolutely ridiculous airplane. The sycophants aren’t going to criticize him or how much this is costing the people either.
"Fibbing"? How quaint. Thanks for that detail.
Thank you for sharing this Benjamin, it's an interesting story for me to read as an aviation fan and I likely wouldn't have seen it elsewhere.
Mr. Schlappig, you political leaning is showing; better to save it for a more appropriate venue.
A more appropriate venue than his own blog about his thoughts on aviation and travel? Snowflake.
What more appropriate venue is one’s own personal opinion and reporting blog?
Perhaps work and personal politics should be kept separate....unless of course you're a rock star on stage. In any case, if you decide to mix the two you should at least aim for accuracy. The bridge jet belongs to the Air Force, not Trump, and they will decide when they no longer need it. Trump will be out of office at that time. Perhaps Lucky should read the WSJ article titled "Trump Wants a New...
Perhaps work and personal politics should be kept separate....unless of course you're a rock star on stage. In any case, if you decide to mix the two you should at least aim for accuracy. The bridge jet belongs to the Air Force, not Trump, and they will decide when they no longer need it. Trump will be out of office at that time. Perhaps Lucky should read the WSJ article titled "Trump Wants a New Air Force One in His Presidential Library. It’s Not a Done Deal" from July 5th.
thanks for the correct information
Amen to that!!!!!!
Ok, so the President is a politician who tells lies when it suits him.
Not exactly "news". And if you want to go down the political road, there's juicier stuff out there.
Yes, there's a "plane" nexus here...but come on!
ANd JOE never lied or ??????He was a saint with dementia???
Dee don’t strain your small and feeble mind with Whataboutism
Oh come on. Sergeant Bonespurs - as his fellow cadets in the military school his father forced him into nicknamed him - loves the military:
Remember how he doesn't like people who were captured?
Or how in France he refused to visit WWII graves because of some rain?
Or maybe at the Pearl Harbor Memorial how he didn't understand why it was such a big deal.
Or perhaps when he called people who enlist "suckers".
Not travel news in any way whatsoever. Oh bbbut it's a plane! So do you report on all military aviation news? You don't seem to. Take your TDS meds and stay in your lane.
GTFOH MAGA mouth breather
Oh look, another thin skinned Trump taint licker who gets all butthurt anytime Agent Orange content shows up here. Speaking of violence, try not to storm the Capitol again when your boy’s bid for a third term fails.
Oh look, another socialist pretending to have the moral high ground and acting tough. Try not to claim your county had another pipe burst for unknown reason then cover the window with paper to hide where the magical ballots came from.
Leftist look the other way for political assassinations, trans mass shootings, and blm rioters burning cities. But omg a protest at the capital by unarmored civilians that killed exactly zero others...it's a threat to democracy! There's only one word for that: retarded. You deserve all the destruction that your communist idiot mayor creates.
Mantis, what was more uncomfortable on your DC march last week, the tight tan Dockers or the full face coverings in summer?
This liberal blogger loves to claim conspiracy when there is none. President Trump literally flew on the new Air Force into Turkey. But he won’t admit that
But that was before President Trump decide to restart the war. I can’t stand Trump but he deserves the safest and best technology to get him home safely.
Dave Stafford, you don’t have a passport and thus can’t opine on global travel
GFU
Please stick with the miles and points.
Please ignore or engage with whatever content you wish, or not.
I’d pay for an ignore 1990 button. Lucky if you’re looking for additional revenue…
Also this article is kind of silly - what’s Trump supposed to say, “im flying this plane because the other doesn’t have xyz…”
You already have such a ‘button,’ Sel, D. Just use your i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-o-n… *rainbow gesture with hands*
What's trump supposed to say? This and many other problems are of his own doing so he can kick rocks, but how about don't take a "free" plane from the Qataris that is totally not a bribe, doesn't have the safety measures you need as the president, then despite the plane not having those safety measurs insist on flying it to Turkey, after you started a war with Iran for reasons that have never been...
What's trump supposed to say? This and many other problems are of his own doing so he can kick rocks, but how about don't take a "free" plane from the Qataris that is totally not a bribe, doesn't have the safety measures you need as the president, then despite the plane not having those safety measurs insist on flying it to Turkey, after you started a war with Iran for reasons that have never been clearly articulated, cannot end a war you say you totally won, when you already have a perfectly good plane (i think two of them) at your disposal, then make up a silly lie about honoring the troops by letting them tour your new plane? What a load of crap.
I’d pay for an ignore 1990 button. Lucky if you’re looking for additional revenue…
Also this article is kind of silly - what’s Trump supposed to say, “im flying this plane because the other doesn’t have xyz…”
You can't even figure out the "Post" button, so lets hold off on adding additional options for now.
Long live the Great President Trump. Greatest leader ever.
Trump is the worlds biggest liar and nobody should believe a word that this man utters.He is delusional,self centred and a hypocrite of the highest standards and the world would be a better place without him in charge of apparently the worlds most powerful nation that cannot even win a war with Iran.
1000% the Truth! How the orange bs artist clown is president is beyond me.
Wow, the TDS is thick around here this afternoon!
Seriously. You are so Devoted to that madman, it's concerning.
Trump Deity Syndrome?
So all the MAGA folks thinking prices will go down just got played.
Don’t like Trump but he deserves highest level of security protection as do all of our countries leaders.
Inflation did go way down. It peaked under Biden, back when you didn't care about inflation. Doesn't mean all prices go down, it means they don't increase as fast. I suggest taking Econ 101.
You clearly don’t understand what inflation is and probably should take some economics courses as well.
Inflation, at best, fell from about 2.89% to 2.68% in 2025, but it's now back up to around 4.3% and is expected to reach roughly 4.5% once Q2 data is reported, effectively erasing that earlier progress. It did peak during the Biden administration as global inflation surged following pandemic-era stimulus, Biden's regressive policy on it also led to a slower recovery.
However, nothing went "way down" except your IQ. Maybe take your own advice and...
Inflation, at best, fell from about 2.89% to 2.68% in 2025, but it's now back up to around 4.3% and is expected to reach roughly 4.5% once Q2 data is reported, effectively erasing that earlier progress. It did peak during the Biden administration as global inflation surged following pandemic-era stimulus, Biden's regressive policy on it also led to a slower recovery.
However, nothing went "way down" except your IQ. Maybe take your own advice and take Econ 101 as well, you're clearly out of your depth here.
Drew, what was regressive about Biden's recovery? The US had the fastest recovery of the G7, and had lower inflation than the EU average. We also had the largest real wage gains for the bottom earners in decades, while top earners (who were also the ones least effected by inflation) saw lower real wage gains. That's progressive, not regressive. And honestly preferable to the Obama strategy of half-assing the stimulus and letting unemployment sit over 8% for 4 years.
Bro is trying to not get assassinated like he's been doing to other world leaders lmao
The flag waving in the tail looks hideous, who designed this?
I blame Clippy.
The entire paint job is hideous.
Trump designed it and that explains everything.
Can we do a bipartisan bill in Congress to bring back the old livery? Better yet, where are all those insane leftoid judges that block anything Trump does when you need them most? Can we strike down the new livery? I don't hate it, but nothing beats the old one.
It should be obvious that this new Air Force one is a stop gap arrangement till we can get the real new Air Force One aircraft that have been delayed by almost a decade thanks to the inaptitude of Boeing.
I'm guessing one of the two current Air Force One aircraft was showing major signs of aging and they needed something to replace it immediately.
I'm OK with the President of the country not having to disclose everything regarding his safe apparatus.
Why are you so obsessed with Trump? We all know who he is and who he is not. You are putting way too much politics in your blogs and it’s getting annoying. People come here to escape the fractured landscape of our country to talk travel and exploration and you have just become so negative and politically charged. No one is going to listen to a travel blogger about politics so maybe stick in your lane ?
"No politics! We want the jobs the comet will bring..." -- Don't Look Up (2020).
Nah, the answer to speech you don't like is more speech, not attempting to silence Ben.
Well said, 1990
"Stick to your lane" - MAGAverse loves to throw this out there...limited intellect and all
Some time back, Ben had a post about how the blog isn’t as remunerative as it used to be. It is how he makes his living, and he’s doing what he has to, it seems, to get the engagement he needs, or so we hope, to make the site sufficiently profitable for him to keep doing what he does.
The “bait” headlines are self-evident enough that you’re more than able to not click through if you don’t want to read those posts.
So when a magat's brains hurts when glorious leader is called on his bullshit, but they kind of know he's an idiot, but cannot admit they were wrong. so now they respond, stick to planes, stick to sports, stay in your lane. How about go pound sand. What a bunch of snowflakes. Just stay on Newsmax or Druge report if you want to only listen and read the stories that praise that idiot.
I think flying him on the unprotected plane would actually be the best thing for our national security.
On Air India.
Icarus. Here’s hoping.
1000%!! LOL.
100% Truth!!!
I believe it sounds like something that President Trump would do. As Chairman of the international Board of Peace, Donald has a great respect for the military and sacrifices our troops make.
It's funny how difficult it is to detect sarcasm these days, since there are crazy people everywhere.