President Trump is angry over delays to Air Force One. It could spell even more trouble for Boeing

Boeing has had six years of production problems, safety issues, delivery delays and unhappy buyers of its aircraft. But President Donald Trump’s anger at the delays for the next generation of Air Force One jets could result in a huge blow to what remains of the company’s prestige and finances going forward.

Boeing has had six years of production problems, safety issues, delivery delays and unhappy buyers of its aircraft. But President Donald Trump’s anger at the delays for the next generation of Air Force One jets could result in a huge blow to what remains of the company’s prestige and finances going forward. The rift between Trump and Boeing could a be a serious problem for Boeing under a presidential administration that is looking to make massive government spending cuts, lawsuits and Congress notwithstanding. The company gets 42% of its revenue from US government contracts, according to its most recent filing. In 2022 Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from Chicago to the Washington, DC, suburb of Arlington, Virginia, close to the Pentagon, an indication of how it views the importance of its defense business. But that business is far more at risk than even its troubled commercial plane business. Trump has groused for days about the wait for the next generation of Boeing 747 jets that are supposed to serve as the primary presidential air transport, officially known as the VC-25B but flying under the name Air Force One when the president is onboard. The jets currently flying under the Air Force One moniker have been in service since the George H.W. Bush administration. The new planes were supposed to be delivered in 2024 when the contracts were originally awarded in 2018, but are still years away from completion according to the latest estimates. The president said earlier this week he’s interested in possibly looking to buy used jets elsewhere and refurbishing them. It would be a similar move to one he made early in his first term, after he ordered the US Air Force to re-negotiate the Air Force One contract with Boeing. Boeing has been working on refurbishing two 747 jets that had been originally built for commercial use ever since. “I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taken so long,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Wednesday evening. “There’s no excuse for it.”