With rumors that former President Donald J. Trump is about to announce he is running for the White House in 2024, his son Eric teased that his father’s VIP Boeing 757 private jet, little used since he took office in 2017, is getting ready to fly again.
The Trump scion tweeted on June 6, “She’s back,” with a video credited to Lake Charles, Louisiana-based Landlocked Aviation Services. The 97-second clip shows what appears to be the jet dubbed Trump Force One getting a new paint job.
The 45th president followed that up by posting on his Truth Social network, “During my four years in the White House, the Boeing 757 we campaigned on the for our big 2016 WIN. Now it has been completely modernized and renovated and looks GREAT, all done in the Great State of Louisiana and coming back to the skies in the Fall of 2022, or maybe sooner. Get ready!”
A large American flag replaces the oversize T on the jet’s tail, which otherwise carries a similar look, according to the video.
NEWBURGH, NY – MARCH 22: Donald Trump’s personal 757 airplane sits at the edge of a runway in need … [+]
For some period after leaving office, the jet sat parked at an airport north of New York City. During that period, the former president used borrowed private jets and a Cessna Citation X super-midsize jet he also owns. While Trump stands six feet, three inches tall, his Citation X has a cabin height of just five feet, seven inches in height.
Earlier this year, a private jet carrying the former president had to make an emergency landing after an engine failure.
Last May, Trump announced plans to restore his prized VIP Airliner, which features a private bedroom and living area with oversize couches, a dining table and lots of luxury finishes.
Donald Trump, at the time president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc., waves as he … [+]
After visiting the parked jet, CNN reported, “One engine is missing parts. The other is shrink-wrapped in plastic. The cost to fix and get it flyable could reach well into the high six-figures, a price-tag Trump doesn’t appear to be dealing with right now. Though the current state of his finances aren’t public, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the hospitality industry home to so many of his businesses.”
Trump responded by posting on his Save America website, “Many people have asked about the beautiful Boeing 757 that became so iconic during the Trump rallies. It was effectively kept in storage in Upstate New York in that I was not allowed to use it during my presidency. It is now being fully restored and updated and will be put back into service sometime prior to the end of the year. It will soon be brought to a Louisiana service facility for the completion of work, inspection and updating of Rolls-Royce engines, and a brand new paint job. When completed, it will be better than ever, and again used at upcoming rallies!”
While there is no longer a T on the tail, the video shows Trump painted in large gold lettering above the passenger windows on the forward section of the fuselage.
Landlocked Aviation’s website shows aircraft it painted for Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines as well as the U.S. Marshall’s Service.
