WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has signed a contract with Boeing to replace two refrigerators in Air Force One – the presidential plane – expected to cost American taxpayers nearly $24 million.
The new systems are two of five such chillers aboard Air Force One, which must be equipped with a refrigeration capacity to handle 3,000 meals, according to military specifications.
That’s enough to feed the president and 50 of his companion’s three meals a day for three weeks.
The refrigerators, which date back to 1990, have been faltering despite regular maintenance, an Air Force spokesperson said.
In its report, the Defense One quoted an official as saying that the units are “unable to effectively support mission requirements for food storage.”
The term Air Force One refers not to any particular aircraft but to any plane carrying the president. The list price for the 747 airplanes outfitted as Air Force One is about $350m, but customising the planes costs much more.
Even long before assuming the Oval Office, Donald Trump was highly critical of how much taxpayer money was going into Air Force One. He slammed a deal with Boeing to modify two 747-8s to replace the planes that currently carry the president, saying it was going to cost more than $4 billion.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/806134244384899072
However, it only took a few days in office and a trip on the plane for Trump to change his opinion of Air Force One.
