{"id":3149,"date":"2026-07-02T13:04:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:04:54","slug":"retrofitted-qatari-jet-takes-flight-as-air-force-one-for-trumps-trip-to-north-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149","title":{"rendered":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>WASHINGTON<\/strong>  | President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One \u2014 a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump\u2019s preferred color scheme: a navy-blue belly with red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief\u2019s entourage should have \u2014 plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.<\/p>\n<p>Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. \u201cYou can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The retrofitted Qatari jet is intended to serve as a \u201cbridge\u201d between the aging Boeing jets that have served as Air Force One for the last 36 years and two new aircraft, which are years behind schedule and expected to be delivered in 2028 at the earliest. Trump toured the new jet just weeks after returning to the White House last year and directed that it be prepared for his use for the bulk of his remaining time in office.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The compressed timetable set by the president limited the modifications to the plane. Images of the jet captured since its unveiling and analyzed by the Associated Press show that it is not equipped with at least some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the outgoing Cold War-era jets.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, said that this absence, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet is better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re going on a long trip, you take the big fancy car, but if you\u2019re just buzzing around town, you\u2019ll settle for something less. Right? And this looks like it\u2019s a domestic-only model,\u201d Gertler said, speaking of the new jet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the idea was to do it as quickly and inexpensively as possible, it would seem to lead to the notion that there\u2019s less content\u201d in the jet\u2019s modifications, Gertler said.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has said he plans to use the new plane next week when he travels to attend the NATO summit in Turkey.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done \u201cwithout accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,\u201d but added that \u201cseveral highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.\u201d The service acknowledged that it did not widen the doors leading out of the aircraft or include multiple stairs built into the hull of the plane.<\/p>\n<p>Reporters are generally not permitted to take photos inside the plane unless Trump is present. But on Wednesday, Trump administration staffers shared images of the plane\u2019s interior on social media.<\/p>\n<p>White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of aides gathered around a circular table that had off-white place mats and leather captain\u2019s chairs. Monica Crowley, the chief of U.S. protocol, posted a picture of herself perched on a leather couch between a pair of Air Force One throw pillows. Mounted on the wall behind her was a framed photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.<\/p>\n<p>The jet carried Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p>The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement for the older planes that had previously ferried him as president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,\u201d Trump said. Trump has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3144\">Toon in Thursday<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3146\">THURSDAY NEWS IN A RUSH: Top headlines in today\u2019s NewsMinute video<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3147\">Victor Marx edging out Barbara Kirkmeyer in Colorado GOP governor primary<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One \u2014 a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency. Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[5074,5075,252,619],"class_list":["post-3149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-air-force-one","tag-boeing-747-800","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-qatar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One \u2014 a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency. Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\"},\"headline\":\"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149\"},\"wordCount\":744,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"air force one\",\"Boeing 747-800\",\"President Donald Trump\",\"qatar\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149\",\"name\":\"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo\\\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=3149#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Denver Moving Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle","og_description":"WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One \u2014 a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency. Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149","og_site_name":"Denver Moving Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b"},"headline":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota","datePublished":"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149"},"wordCount":744,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg","keywords":["air force one","Boeing 747-800","President Donald Trump","qatar"],"articleSection":["World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149","name":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota - Denver Moving Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-02T13:04:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/273fc3e72a9c463eaa92dcb589c5ef36.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"caption":"President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=3149#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump\u2019s trip to North Dakota"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/","name":"Denver Moving Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}