President Trump is expected to take his first flight aboard the new Air Force One next week, the jet gifted by Qatar that critics spent weeks calling a scandal.
The trip is a real one with a real purpose, not a photo op.
The Washington Times reported on June 26 that a White House official confirmed Trump will make his debut flight on the converted Boeing 747-8 when he travels to North Dakota on Wednesday. The destination is the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library dedication, one of several events tied to America’s 250th anniversary.
The paper also reported the aircraft will serve temporarily until Boeing finishes the new presidential fleet, and that Trump said last week the jet will lead a July 4 flyover involving other military planes over the Capitol. It noted Trump became the last president to fly aboard the traditional Boeing 747-200s when that aircraft brought him home from the G7 summit in Europe.
That context is the whole point of the bridge plane. The old aircraft finished its run, Boeing’s replacements are late, and the president is putting the converted 747-8 into service rather than waiting years for contractors to catch up.
Here is the outlet confirming the first trip.
President Trump will take his first trip on the new Air Force One gifted by the Qatari government when he travels to North Dakota on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed to The Washington Times. https://t.co/PfLeOqW2Tj
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 26, 2026
Bloomberg reporter Josh Wingrove put a date on it.
Wingrove posted that the debut flight is expected on July 1 for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library dedication, citing officials.
Trump will make his debut flight on the new Air Force One, a jet gifted by Qatar, when he flies to North Dakota on July 1 for dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, per officials to @hlowenkron and me.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) June 26, 2026
The plane the president will board is a Boeing 747-8 the Air Force has labeled a VC-25B Bridge.
The name tells the story. It is the bridge that gets the country across the gap Boeing left behind.
ABC7 reported the jet is meant to bridge the gap between the aging modified Boeing 747-200s that have flown as Air Force One since 1990 and the two delayed Boeing replacements. The outlet noted the Pentagon accepted the Qatari aircraft last year and has spent months preparing it for presidential service.
ABC7 also reported the Air Force said the plane would begin commissioning flights, which function as a final exam for the aircraft modification. Those replacement Boeing aircraft are not expected for roughly two more years, which leaves the country relying on jets that have been carrying presidents for more than three decades.
That makes the North Dakota trip more than a debut; it is the first public proof that the bridge aircraft is moving from controversy into service.
That is the part the critics kept skipping.
When Trump unveiled the converted Qatari jet at Joint Base Andrews, KFYR/AP reported the aircraft now carries a red, white, and navy color scheme, the presidential seal, and a large American flag on the tail.
KFYR/AP reported the jet keeps much of the previous head-of-state interior layout while being modified to meet security requirements, and that it is intended as a bridge until Boeing’s new aircraft arrive.
The gift did draw ethics and national security criticism because it was an expensive foreign government gift.
Trump’s answer has been blunt. He has argued that turning the plane down would be foolish given Boeing’s delays and the age of the current fleet, and that America should show up on the world stage looking like the United States.
If the schedule holds, the North Dakota flight will be the first working trip, followed days later by the July 4 flyover over the Capitol during the country’s 250th-anniversary stretch.
The media wanted a scandal. What they got was a president solving a presidential-airlift problem the slow contractors created.
What are your thoughts?
