Xi Jinping's 'special plane' vs Trump's Air Force One: What's the difference?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Xi Jinping's 'special plane' vs Trump's Air Force One: What's the difference?")
Xi Jinping's aircraft for overseas trips is an Air China Boeing 747 Photograph: (AFP)
Xi Jinping's aircraft for overseas trips is an Air China Boeing 747 specially modified for presidential travel, unlike the US's dedicated Air Force One fleet. Xi's plane has executive, official and media sections, while Air Force One has secure communications, medical suite
Chinese President Xi Jinping has landed in Washington but here we focus on the aircraft that carried him and how it stacks up against America’s presidential plane. The aircraft carrying China’s leader is referred to in state media and official statements as a zhuan ji, or special plane. Like Air Force One, this is also Boeing 747 but is lesser known. He landed at Joint Base Andrews on a heavily modified Air China Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.
However, across the Pacific Ocean, China does not operate a dedicated presidential aircraft. Aircraft used for Xi’s overseas trips have been drawn from Air China’s fleet and specially prepared for presidential travel. Just last weekend, Xi was in New Delhi aboard a Boeing 747-8. It is the passenger version of the 747-8 and the last passenger variant of the 747 ever built. Unlike the US, China has released relatively little public information about the aircraft used by its top leader. In 2013, when Xi had just taken office, his overseas trips were carried out on Air China Boeing 747-400s. Whether for domestic or international missions, the dispatch and deployment of special aircraft are subject to strict procedures and a high level of confidentiality.
While the White House maintains a dedicated web page on Air Force One that details its aircraft designation, tail numbers, on-board facilities and history, China receives the flight assignment and passes it to Air China through its office overseeing special flights, according to a rare media account in 2014. The crew would be determined and security checks and modifications to the aircraft carried out.
Since there is no dedicated flight it is not a recognisable visual identity like Air Force One. The words “United States of America”, the American flag and the seal of the US president are emblazoned on its exterior, making the aircraft an immediately identifiable symbol of the American presidency wherever it flies. Trump currently flies on the VC-25B Bridge, a modified Boeing 747-8I introduced earlier this year as a temporary presidential aircraft. Estimated to be worth $400 million, it was gifted by Qatar’s royal family and offers greater speed and range than the older VC-25A planes.
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