When Boeing made the now-infamous deal to revampAir Force One, few could have projected the money the company would lose. Now, reports say the red, white and blue paint scheme could add to the $1.1 billion the company has already lost.
Former President Donald Trump‘s proposed color scheme, which includes dark blue paint covering the bottom of the plane and the engines, could affect the aircraft’s cooling mechanism which Boeing would need to pay out-of-pocket to fix under the tax-payer friendly deal.
“Further analysis concluded darker colors, among other factors, on the underside of the VC-25B aircraft might contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a small number of components,” Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in a statement.
The traditional Air Force one sports a lighter blue and white model.
President Joe Biden ordered that the plan be scrapped and to revert to the old color scheme for the two replacement planes.
Earlier this year, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun expressed regret over the Air Force One deal, made by his predecessor Dennis Muilenburg, calling it a deal the company “probably shouldn’t have taken.” The deal protected taxpayers by making Boeing responsible for absorbing any extra costs. At the time of its signing in 2018, Boeing announced that Trump had “negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people.”
