Trump Tours Boeing Plane Amid Frustration Over Delays in New Air Force One Delivery

The motorcade of President Donald Trump is parked next to a 12-year old Boeing 747-8 that Trump was touring in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 15, 2025. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Donald Trump toured a new Boeing plane at an airport in West Palm Beach on Feb. 15 to inspect its hardware and technology as the company struggles to complete two delayed planes that would serve as the presidential plane, Air Force One.

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung confirmed on Feb. 15 the Trump tour and hinted at the administration’s frustration over the Air Force One delivery delays.

“President Trump is touring a new Boeing plane to check out the new hardware/technology,“ Cheung said. ”This highlights the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised, as they are already five years late.”

The plane Trump toured has the tail number P4-HBJ, according to PlaneSpotters.net. It appears to be a 747-8KB model manufactured at Boeing’s assembly facility in Everett, Washington, and first delivered in 2012. The plane was initially operated by Qatar Amiri and is currently operated by Global Jet.

During Trump’s first term in office, Boeing secured a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two 747-8 planes that are to serve as the next Air Force One aircraft, replacing the two current 747-200s in the presidential fleet. The original delivery deadline for the new 747-8 was December 2024, but the project has been delayed. Deliveries have been pushed to at least 2027 and 2028, and the project is about $2 billion over budget.

Boeing has blamed design changes, labor constraints, and supply chain problems for the delays.

“Our team is fighting through a very, very challenging program—two very complex airplanes,” Ted Colbert, who heads Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in July 2024. “We’ve done a ton of investment in our workforce and training, efficiency, work on the factory floor.”

The Boeing 747-8s are designed as an airborne White House, capable of operating in extreme security scenarios, including nuclear war. They are equipped with military-grade avionics, advanced communications systems, and a self-defense suite.

Amid ongoing delays and cost overruns of the two planes, Elon Musk visited Boeing in late December 2024. Trump tasked Musk with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is focused on identifying waste in government spending.

Commenting on Musk’s visit, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC in late January that teams were working with the administration to accelerate delivery.

“The president wants the airplane sooner, and so we’re working with Elon and the team to figure what can we do to pull up the schedule of that aircraft,” Ortberg said, calling the talks with Musk “constructive.”

“They sincerely are looking at things in the contract or in the process that are slowing us down that are not providing value.”

Boeing did not respond to a request for comment and clarification on the latest expected delivery timeline for the presidential planes.