Trump's Boeing 757 isn't the perfect private jet, but it's perfect for him

13.06.2024 - 18:23 / insider.com / Donald Trump

Whether you love or hate him, there is no arguing Donald Trump's taste in private jets is fantastic. That's because his current flagship is a Boeing 757-200 airliner converted for VIP use.

The 757 is an aircraft without equal. Since its launch in 1982, it's been one of the most capable, versatile, and respected aircraft in the skies.

However, Trump's retrofit of the airliner as a business jet has recently been questioned in an article that turned its nose up at the plane, calling it "crappy" and "dilapidated."

While the article did make some good points — purpose-built business jets have more comfortable cabin pressure and can operate out of smaller airports — the author's disdain for its owner, whom I'm ambivalent toward, bled over into an unnecessarily harsh characterization of the plane.

There's a common saying in the business aviation industry. The private jet isn't a luxury; it's a time machine. The point of a private jet is to save its occupant time and increase their productivity. Time is money, and the time saved by flying private instead of commercial is worth more than the extra cost.

From that perspective, the 757 is probably not the most cost-effective or efficient corporate jet for a globetrotting business mogul. The jet burned through $2.6 million in fuel from 2023 to 2024.

A purpose-built Gulfstream or Bombardier Global are certainly better options. Both are newer, more efficient, and have the range to reach pretty much any destination in the world.

But neither can match the sheer presence and drama of arriving at a destination in a VIP airliner. And they don't look nearly as good behind a campaign stage.

And for a consummate self-promoter like the Donald, there's no better private jet than a three-story tall, 155-foot long, flying billboard covered in the Trump logo.

The marketing and brand value created by the flying billboard trumps the added cost of operating a decades-old airliner, equipped with two bedrooms and a dining room, all lined in 24k gold.

In fact, Trump once said in a documentary that "the plane is very much an extension of the Trump brand," The New York Times reported in 2016.

Related stories

The jet, dubbed Trump Force One, has been a fixture at campaign stops ahead of the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections.

Trump acquired the 757, registration N757AF, from the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen in 2010 to replace his older Boeing 727.

N757AF was originally delivered to the defunct Danish low-cost carrier Sterling Airlines in May 1991. It also briefly flew for the defunct Mexican airline TAESA before the tech billionaire picked it up in 1995.

Even though the aircraft is now well into its 30s, older, well-maintained planes can operate safely and effectively at that