Key facts
- China's President Xi Jinping arrived on a Boeing 747-8i airliner for a state visit.
- The US presidential jet, known as Air Force One when the president is aboard, is a Boeing VC-25A, a modified Boeing 747-200.
- An interim Air Force One, the VC-25B Bridge, is a retrofitted Boeing 747-8 previously used by the Qatari royal family.
- New Boeing VC-25B Air Force One planes are expected by 2028.
- The UK prime minister uses a Royal Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT named Vespina.
The Boeing VC-25A, commonly known as Air Force One when the US president is aboard, is a heavily modified version of the Boeing 747-200 airliner that entered service in 1990. It measures 231 feet long and can carry 30 crew members and 71 passengers. Two such jets, identified by tail numbers 28000 and 29000, serve as the president's official transport.
An interim presidential aircraft, the VC-25B Bridge, is a retrofitted Boeing 747-8 that was previously used by the Qatari royal family. President Donald Trump accepted this luxury business jet as a gift in May 2025. This aircraft will serve until Boeing's new VC-25Bs, based on the Boeing 747-8i, are ready, which is now expected by 2028 after significant delays and over $2 billion in losses for Boeing due to manufacturing and supply-chain issues.
In July, Trump reportedly departed Turkey in a smaller C-32A aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, due to a threat from Iran. The C-32A normally serves as the vice president's aircraft and can be used by the president to access smaller airports.
Other world leaders also utilize large executive transport. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday aboard the country's Boeing 747-8i airliner for a state visit, where he was greeted by President Trump and Melania Trump. The UK prime minister's official transport is a Royal Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT named Vespina (tail number ZZ336).