US President Donald Trump stepped on to a Qatar-gifted Boeing 747 for his first trip in the new Air Force One, flying from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Medora, North Dakota.
The US president spoke to reporters before entering the VC-25B Bridge for the first time on July 1, 2026,
“This will be the first flight of what I think is maybe the greatest commercial plane ever built. I said to Boeing ‘what’s the best one’ and they said this is the best and you can have the privilege of flying it,” President Trump said.
He added: “This is a plane that the United States of America should have. Our Air Force One was 36 years old. We’re very proud of this. You can low key it or show it and I think the country should be very proud of it.”
The US Air Force said the Bridge aircraft “fulfills an imperative to relieve pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet” and provides presidential airlift operations until the long-term Boeing VC-25B enters service.
Over the past few weeks the aircraft has undergone commissioning flights, which are the final exams for the aircraft modification.
Painted in new red, white, and blue livery, the Qatar-gifted Boeing 747 maintains much of the previous head of state interior layout.
An Atlas Air 747-8F was also leased in 2025 to begin training pilots and maintainers and was followed by the purchase of a Lufthansa 747-8i as a full-time training asset for the entire crew complement.
The US Department of Defense officially accepted the Boeing 747-8 business jet from Qatar in May 2025, despite criticism that the exchange amounted to corruption.
MAIDEN VOYAGE 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/b1RBlnbrFt pic.twitter.com/Xbqm2NHXwV
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 1, 2026
At the time, Senator Chuck Schumer said he would introduce a bill that would “prohibit any foreign aircraft from being used” as Air Force One.
The top Democrat senator argued that retrofitting the Boeing 747-8 would “cost billions” and could “never even truly eliminate all catastrophic risks”.
Senator Schumer previously described the potential agreement as “not just naked corruption” but “also a grave national security threat”.