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The jet that Our Beloved Leader is so keen on accepting? Let's ignore the accepting gifts from foreign kings and all that for the moment.
He never stopped to wonder why they're so eager to get rid of it.
If he'd looked around, he would have seen that pretty much none of the Arab countries are flying the 747-8 jets. Why?
1. COST. $23,000 PER HOUR. It's a big effing plane, consumes a huge amount of fuel and requires a lot of maintenance. That plane has logged a little over 1,000 flight hours over the last five years - it's a yard bird! And yet it still costs money because it has to be stored and maintained and insured or it'll fall apart!
2. Size. Monster big heavy jets are very limited in where they can go. Monster big heavy jets require very long and wide runways to take off and land on. The royals are going to Gulfstream 5s and narrow-body jets that have a lot more options as to where they can travel to.
3. This particular jet is coming up on major maintenance. Currently it is due to have its front landing gear taken apart for major maintenance and inspection. The engines are also coming up on their complete tear-down and inspection. These are VERY costly procedures.
4. They can't sell it. There is no market for selling planes like this, it is described as "illiquid". The only use for 747-8s is for cargo, and this one cannot economically be converted for freight: you'd have to rip-out all that bling, reinforce the entire fuselage, cut a monster big hole in the side, recertify the fuselage as airworthy, and then you'd be able to use it for cargo transport. Probably cheaper to buy a used 747-8 that was built for that purpose.
I'm pretty certain he'll accept thebribegift. After all, his Attorney General said it's okay! And she should know, she was a paid lobbyist for Qatar, earning over $100,000 A MONTH for doing that. And he may refuse to let the military/Boeing modify it to bring it closer to the standards needed to be a proper Air Force One plane, because doing so would cost tens/hundreds of millions of dollars and take a lot more time than He would have patience for, and would also delay the two new AF1 jets further. He's going to want it NOW NOW NOW like the toddler that he is.
The Qataris fund Hammas. And the Huthis. And are pretty much allies with Iran. And now they're building a multi-billion dollar Trump golf course/resort in their country.
Qatar gets rid of a boondoggle that costs them money. They get to curry favor with the "Leader of the Free World". It is an absolute win/win situation for them.
Yep. No conflicts of interest to be seen here.
The NJ.com article excerpts from the Forbes article, which may be paywalled.
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/05/turns-out-the-jokes-on-trump-when-it-comes-to-that-qatari-jumbo-jet.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump/
He never stopped to wonder why they're so eager to get rid of it.
If he'd looked around, he would have seen that pretty much none of the Arab countries are flying the 747-8 jets. Why?
1. COST. $23,000 PER HOUR. It's a big effing plane, consumes a huge amount of fuel and requires a lot of maintenance. That plane has logged a little over 1,000 flight hours over the last five years - it's a yard bird! And yet it still costs money because it has to be stored and maintained and insured or it'll fall apart!
2. Size. Monster big heavy jets are very limited in where they can go. Monster big heavy jets require very long and wide runways to take off and land on. The royals are going to Gulfstream 5s and narrow-body jets that have a lot more options as to where they can travel to.
3. This particular jet is coming up on major maintenance. Currently it is due to have its front landing gear taken apart for major maintenance and inspection. The engines are also coming up on their complete tear-down and inspection. These are VERY costly procedures.
4. They can't sell it. There is no market for selling planes like this, it is described as "illiquid". The only use for 747-8s is for cargo, and this one cannot economically be converted for freight: you'd have to rip-out all that bling, reinforce the entire fuselage, cut a monster big hole in the side, recertify the fuselage as airworthy, and then you'd be able to use it for cargo transport. Probably cheaper to buy a used 747-8 that was built for that purpose.
I'm pretty certain he'll accept the
The Qataris fund Hammas. And the Huthis. And are pretty much allies with Iran. And now they're building a multi-billion dollar Trump golf course/resort in their country.
Qatar gets rid of a boondoggle that costs them money. They get to curry favor with the "Leader of the Free World". It is an absolute win/win situation for them.
Yep. No conflicts of interest to be seen here.
The NJ.com article excerpts from the Forbes article, which may be paywalled.
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/05/turns-out-the-jokes-on-trump-when-it-comes-to-that-qatari-jumbo-jet.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump/
