President Donald Trump says he’s “not happy” with Boeing after the new Air Force One was delayed.
President Donald Trump said he is “not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long” for Boeing to build the next Air Force One jetliner, adding that there is “no excuse” for the delay.
Trump made the remark late Wednesday after a Trump administration official confirmed to FOX Business that the next generation Air Force One jet is delayed until 2029 or later due to issues that primary contractor Boeing has attributed to global supply chains and changing project requirements.
“I’m not happy with Boeing. It takes them a long time to do, you know, Air Force One. We gave that contract out a long time ago as a fixed price contract, and I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long, and we may do something else,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One.
“We may go and buy a plane or get a plane or something. But I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taking Boeing so long,” he added. “There’s no excuse for it.”
BOEING’S NEW AIR FORCE ONE DELAYED UNTIL 2029 OR LATER, OFFICIAL SAYS
President Donald Trump gestures as he departs Air Force One at Miami International Airport on Feb. 19 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
When asked about alternative planes, Trump said “I would not consider Airbus over Boeing.”
“But I could buy one that was used and convert it. I could buy one from another country perhaps, or get one from another country,” he also said. “So we’re looking at other alternatives because it’s taking Boeing too long.”
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Boeing did not immediately respond Thursday morning to a request for comment from FOX Business.
The contract for the new Air Force One was initially awarded to Boeing in 2018, when it received a $3.9 billion contract to build two new 747-8 aircraft for use as Air Force One that were to be delivered by December 2024, but subsequent delays led to that being pushed back to 2027 or 2028, with the new delay pushing that back further.
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The new Air Force One is delayed until at least 2029, according to a Trump administration official. (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
“It is ridiculous that the delivery of a new Air Force One airplane has been delayed for such a long time,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told FOX Business.” President Trump is working on identifying ways to speed up the delivery of a new plane, which has been needed for a while.”
The Boeing 747-8s that will eventually serve as Air Force One are designed to be an airborne White House that can fly in worst-case security scenarios, such as nuclear war, and are modified with military avionics, advanced communications and a self-defense system.
Ted Colbert, then-head of Boeing Defense, Space & Security who has since left the company, said in July that Boeing was dealing with supply chain, inflation, workforce and other challenges in building the airplanes, which are heavily modified versions of 747 airliners.
The next generation Air Force One jetliners were first ordered in 2018. (U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Nicolas Erwin / DVIDS / Fox News)
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Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on the program amid the delays.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.
