FILE – President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, March 11, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Bidens travel while he runs for a second term. Its part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)
WASHINGTON – It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.
President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania, a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.
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Here’s a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
It’s not cheap to fly the president’s fleet.
The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn’t long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)
Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.
But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.
New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes, and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system,
When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?
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