Trump, Boeing reach $3.9 billion deal for new Air Force One plan

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump reached an informal deal with Boeing Co. on a fixed-price contract for the new Air Force One programme that will cost $3.9 billion.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the agreement will save taxpayers $1.4 billion from the original estimate for buying and outfitting two presidential jets. But public estimates suggest the savings would be far less, based on a speech Trump gave earlier.
The pact helps set the stage for a modernised Air Force One programme after Trump criticised its cost, threatened to cancel the order and later boasted of pushing Boeing to reduce the expense. The Air Force said it saved some money in 2017 when the president reached a deal with the Chicago-based planemaker for two 747 jumbo jets to serve as Air Force One, taking advantage of an unusual limited-time discount on planes once bound for Russia. “President Trump negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people,” Boeing said in a tweet.
Still, it’s unclear what benefit the negotiations yielded taxpayers. The president’s budget request called for $3.95 billion to be spent through fiscal 2023 to modify and test two Boeing 747-8 aircraft to make them “Presidential mission worthy.” The total, which includes money already spent on the programme, calls for outlays of $434.1 million this fiscal year.
“They’re elevating defense-programme theatre to an art form,” Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said of the highly
unusual direct talks between the
president and the second-largest US defense contractor on a high-profile military programme.
Much of the costs for the presidential plane come from pricey and complex modifications required to turn Boeing’s iconic hump-backed jets into the flying fortresses that ferry US presidents around the world.
The planes would be outfitted with dual auxiliary power units, rather than the one electrical power system standard for commercial jets, a complex communications system, work and rest quarters for the first family, elevators to ease boarding, self-defense capabilities and other features, according to the budget document.
Negotiations to hone the programme requirements, the biggest driver of expenses, are typically handled by Pentagon officials with deep expertise in the highly complex systems. In February 2017, Trump said the Air Force was “close to signing a $4.2 billion deal” and that “we got that price down by over $1 billion.”