Trump's private jet or Air Force One -- which is better?

While people around the world would do anything to be on board the Air Force One, US president-elect Donald Trump broke tradition and flew into Ronald Reagan National Airport in his Boeing 757 jet before a meeting with outgoing President Barack Obama.

The move raised questions as to whether Trump will seek to replace the iconic Air Force One with his own jet. As people wonder, here is a side-by-side comparison of Trump's personal jet and the presidential fleet he is poised to inherit.

'Trump Force One'

Dubbed as 'Trump Force One', Trump bought the luxurious jet in 2011. In a recent documentary on the Discovery Channel, Trump referred to the plane as T-Bird which has been converted into 'Trump Force One' in light of his election victory.

Photo showing Donald Trump Boeing jet and Hillary Clinton's Plane crossing each other. PHOTO: REUTERS

Worth more than $100m, the plane boasts gold-karat fixtures in its office, two bedrooms, and powerful Rolls Royce turbo-fan engines.



Even the seat belts are gold plated along with a home cinema that has a 57-inch screen and sound system.

As the Trump plane took off from New York's La Guardia airport on Thursday, it received a water cannon salute on the runway --  a ceremonial gesture in which fire engines spray arcs of water over the plane before it takes off.

Comparison between Trump Force One and Air Force One PHOTO: TELEGRAPH

Air Force One

However, as lavish as the Trump Force One is, it would be functionally impossible for a president to fly around in a plane besides the Air Force One.  The presidential carrier is equipped to evade and distract surface to air missiles.

Image showing Air Force One PHOTO: REUTERS

In the event of a nuclear blast, Air Force One has special shielding that would prevent the plane's components from being destroyed. The plane also has a special communications package that allows the president to receive classified information while in flight. Apart from being larger and wider than Trump’s jet, Air Force One has a conference room, gym and flares to avoid heat-seeking missiles. It has room for a 102 people double the capacity on Trump's plane. While it also features a built-in medical Centre to monitor the health of the president.

Trump was critical of Air Force One throughout his campaign. "Why is President Obama allowed to use Air Force One on the campaign trail with Crooked Hillary?" he asked. "She is flying with him tomorrow. Who pays?"



He has also claimed that owing to Air Force One’s "old engines", President Obama had a huge carbon footprint. “Watch Obama talking about the carbon footprint, and then he flies over Hawaii in an old 747 with the old engines spewing the hell out of it,” the president-elect said.

“And then he gives a speech about global warming and the carbon footprint. Gets into Air Force One, which is a very old Boeing 747, with the old, really big engines, and if you’re a believer in carbon footprint, you don’t like this, right?”


This article originally appeared on The Telegraph.