President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure in recent days about the long wait for two Boeing 747s to serve as the new Air Force One aircraft.

The planes are years behind schedule for delivery. Trump signed a $4 billion contract for the planes during his first term, and it’s unclear if they will be ready during his current term. Cost overruns have totaled more than $2 billion so far.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg reiterated Thursday that Trump adviser Elon Musk is working with Boeing to get the planes delivered faster.

“The president is clearly not happy with the delivery timeline. I think he’s made that very clear,” Ortberg said at the Barclays Industrials Conference. “Elon Musk has actually been very helpful to us in terms of meeting the requirements … helping us work through those non-value-added constraints so that we can move more quickly and get these airplanes delivered to the president.”

Ortberg praised Musk as a “smart guy” who “is able to very quickly identify the difference between a technical requirement and a hurdle that we can get around.” Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, which competes with Boeing’s defense and space division.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday aboard a 747 presidential jet he’s currently flying that he was considering other options.

“We might buy a plane, or buy a plane, or something,” Trump said, according to Reuters, who toured a 747 parked at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport over the weekend, according to the outlet.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disappointment is nothing new for Boeing’s airline customers, who faced long delays at the start of the post-pandemic travel boom. A near-catastrophic blowout of Boeing’s door plugs in January 2024 further slowed deliveries and prompted a leadership change.

Now, some customers are starting to become more optimistic. Executives told CNBC that the manufacturer appears to have turned a corner after Ortberg took over in August.

“Boeing has done a pretty good job of turning things around and becoming a more reliable supplier,” United Chief Financial Officer Mike Leskin said at the same Barclays conference on Wednesday. “In my time at United, our confidence in on-time MAX deliveries has never been stronger.”

Bob Jordan, CEO of all-Boeing 737 carrier Southwest, said on a Jan. 30 earnings call: “While they still have a lot of work to do, they appear to be on the right path and we feel more optimistic.”

Boeing’s Ortberg said at the Barclays conference on Thursday that he doesn’t see any supply chain issues that would prevent the manufacturer from increasing production of its best-selling cash cow 737 Max aircraft to 38 per month in the coming months.
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