The present-day Boeing 747s cost about $380 million to build. If you think that’s a lot, try the Air Force One. $660,000,000 – $660 million! With its many features (plus the ones we don’t know about), the Air Force paid the bill in installments of $140 million each.
And if that sounds like a lot (because it is), wait until you hear how much the deal former President Donald Trump reached with Boeing Co. for the new Air Force One program- $3.9 billion! So, having a President costs a lot of money, and having one these days of age, costs even more.
98, 99, 100!
The kitchen may be able to feed 100 people, but that doesn't guarantee that there are always 100 people on board. In fact, for the most comfortable ride, 96 is apparently the perfect number. And don't for a second think that all passengers get their meals for free.
The cost of operating Air Force One is high. We would hope that for a plane ticket fee of $80,000 per journalist per trip, they're at least getting some water and some pretzels for free. Because of the exaggerated cost, most journalists fly the charter plane that follows Air Force One to the destination.
Assigned
You might feel like you are in grade school again because every White House administration is equipped with its own seating chart. Secret Service may allow passengers to move freely toward the back of the plane while in flight, but they definitely can’t walk forward past their own seats. The "admins" assign the seating.
Still, more than half of the seats on the plane are saved for press and Secret Service agents anyway, so there aren't too many opportunities to get things messed up anyway. We can only wish regular economy passenger flights were as organized as AFO are.
Department Of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security is not so different from the home ministries of other countries. The Department, much like its name, is responsible for public security. They are the department that deals with anti-terrorism, immigration, customs, border security, and cybersecurity. President Bush created the department in 2002 while flying to Berlin. The department was established in response to the September 11 attacks.
The official announcement of its establishment was: "The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States."
Blasting Inside And Out
The captain of the plane controls the radio. But don't worry, the President is the one who chooses the music for the ride. When they aren’t busy managing the country on Air Force One, they, too, have to find ways to entertain themselves. Clinton loved to play jazz music at high volumes, something that not many people could appreciate. He also liked to bring his saxophone on board.
He apparently played music extra loud due to bad hearing. Why doesn't Spotify add the president's playlist so we can all enjoy their favorite tunes? We can see ourselves opening the day with Rosevelt, continuing with Clinton, and ending a quiet evening with Ronald Ragen's favorite hits.