Aircraft May Not Be In Production When USAF Is Ready To Replace AF-1

The production rate of Boeing 747 airplanes has slowed to under two per month, leaving the aerospace analysts wondering if the company will be able to keep its line open long enough to build an eventual replacement to Air Force One.

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that there are currently only enough 747s on the order books to keep the production line open through 2016. The company has taken five orders for its larger 747-8 this year, but the paper reports it has lost just as many.

A forecast released by The International Air Transport Association indicates that air cargo growth is weak at best, with air transportation losing market share to less-expensive shipping by ocean-going vessels.

In a recently-issued Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization request, the Air Force said it does not want a new AF-1 until at least 2021. But, the request indicates that "the government is interested in a four-engine wide-body commercial aircraft platform.” Four engine airplanes offer a level of redundancy that the Air Force feels is necessary to protect the President.

Boeing recently announced it would be closing its C-17 assembly line, the only other 4-engine jet being built in the U.S. Analysts say that the massive A380 would be more than even a President would need, and it is unlikely that Congress would approve a European airplane for the Presidential transport, even with  Airbus increasing its U.S. presence through a final assembly line in Mobile, AL.

(AF-1 pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.whitehouse.gov/about/air-force-one