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- Any Air Force plane carrying a US president is called Air Force One.
- President John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet designed specifically for a US president.
- President Donald Trump accepted a luxury jet from Qatar that could serve as a new Air Force One.
Since the mid-20th century, US presidents have flown on special planes designated as “Air Force One” while carrying out their official duties.
Nicknamed the “flying Oval Office,” Air Force One is equipped with everything the president might need, including office spaces, two kitchens, sleeping quarters, and a fully functional operating room.
A new Air Force One jet, a Boeing 747-8 donated by the Qatari royal family and accepted by President Donald Trump, could bring a new level of luxury to the presidential plane.
Here’s how the design of Air Force One has changed through the years.
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Eisenhower’s Boeing 707 Stratoliner, nicknamed “Queenie,” featured a section for telecommunications, room for 40 passengers, a conference area, and a stateroom, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
John Rous
The Boeing 707 included a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
Kennedy Library Archives/Newsmakers/Getty Images
The plane’s design featured an American flag on the tail and presidential seals on the nose.
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It marked the first and only time a presidential swearing-in ceremony took place on an airplane.
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The small alcove was decorated with a globe decal on the wall and curtains lining the windows.
Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Nixon stood behind the plane’s bar while meeting with military and civilian leaders en route to Vietnam.
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Presidents would occasionally make their way back to the rear cabin to chat with reporters.
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Ford is pictured with Candice Bergen, the first female photographer to shoot a behind-the-scenes story on an American president.
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Carter talked to reporters on his way back from a trip to Europe in 1978.
Bill Fitz-Patrick – White House via CNP/Getty Images
In 1983, Reagan met with Secretary of State George P. Shultz and the national-security advisor designate Robert McFarlane in a meeting space that featured a magazine rack, teal chair, wood-grain table, and photos of him and the first lady, Nancy Reagan.
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The photos showed Reagan toasting with a champagne glass and waving while boarding Air Force One.
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The meeting room also included a television set.
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The presidential office was updated with a stately desk, gray carpeting, and leather chairs.
Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images
The staff area featured plenty of phones for official business. Air Force One is also known as the “flying Oval Office.”
Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images
The annex is pictured in executive configuration, with seating for meetings.
LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images
Clinton met with a delegation from North and South Dakota in 1997 to address flooding in the area.
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Clinton met with members of Congress to discuss nuclear-waste management in 1999.
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The plane flew 444 missions and logged over 1 million miles, according to the Bush White House.
Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images
Bush insisted on returning to Washington, but the Secret Service refused since they were unsure if more attacks were coming.
In a 2016 interview with Politico, Bush’s assistant White House press secretary Gordon Johndroe described Air Force One that day as “the safest and most dangerous place in the world at the exact same time.”
Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images
The president’s suite included a small bed, light-pink couch and carpeting, and a desk with a brown leather chair.
Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images
The hallway was lined with a beige couch with side tables and lamps on either side.
Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images
The plane has 85 phone lines as well as encryption and scrambling devices to ensure secure communication, CNBC reported.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Food and drinks are provided by the plane’s galley kitchen.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Obama met with his chief of staff, Jack Lew, his senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe, and former President Bill Clinton in the senior staff room in 2012.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
The carpeting was updated to a subtle star pattern, which also appeared in the conference room.
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
The chairs featured a subtle polka-dot pattern, and the tables folded down to make more space.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images
Journalists can wander the rear cabin freely, but they aren’t allowed to walk forward to speak to the president — the president has to come back to them.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
As part of the Air Force’s Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program to update Air Force One planes, Trump proposed a red, white, and navy-blue color scheme for the new models.
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The darker paint color would have caused overheating issues and been too costly. Instead, President Joe Biden selected a baby-blue color scheme similar to the current model.
The new VC-25B Air Force One planes are expected to be ready by 2027, according to the Air Force. The long-delayed project has already cost Boeing over $2 million due to various manufacturing and supply-chain issues.
Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
Plain beige carpeting continued down the hallway.
Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
Biden took his first overseas trip as president in June 2021, visiting Europe for the G7 summit.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Trump signed a proclamation establishing the name change in his Air Force One office in February.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
The luxurious plane previously functioned as a Qatari private business jet. It features a large primary bedroom with loveseats and an en-suite bathroom, guest bedrooms, office space, a dining room, and a salon lounge with plush couches.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a May briefing that the Qatari royal family donated the jumbo jet to the US Air Force and that it was being “retrofitted to the highest standards” to serve as Air Force One. Some estimates put the cost of upgrading the jet for the office of the president at $1 billion.
Trump, who has pressured Boeing to deliver its new Air Force One planes sooner and criticized the project’s “failure” to complete them on time, said he’d be “stupid” to turn down the Qatari plane, worth an estimated $400 million.
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