Why Qatar Really Wants To Give Trump Their Unused 747

Forbes

The president may be thirsting for a new four-engine jumbo jet, but many governments and royal families are unloading their fuel-guzzling palaces in the sky.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, why the Qataris are happy to dump their 747 on Trump.

00:07The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world,

00:12has been quietly getting rid of some of its biggest planes.

00:15It may have found the perfect taker for one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets in President

00:20Donald Trump, who has been frustrated with the multi-year delays in replacing Air Force

00:25One.

00:26While many have speculated that the Qataris have offered Trump the luxurious plane to

00:31curry favor with the famously transactional president, there may be a simpler rationale.

00:36They just don't want it anymore.

00:39The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020, according to

00:43an archived listing.

00:45Giving it away could save Qatar's rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage

00:50costs, aviation experts told Forbes.

00:54Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.

00:57Qatar, which has given away another blinged-out 747 and may have mothballed two more, epitomizes

01:04the fading demand for these huge, fuel-guzzling, highly personalized airplanes.

01:10There aren't many who want to buy them, and many of the governments and royal families

01:13who own them have been trying to ditch them over the past decade.

01:18Linus Bauer, managing director of the Dubai-based aviation consulting firm BAA & Partners, told

01:24Forbes, quote, Qatar, like many modern states, is shifting toward leaner, more versatile aircraft,

01:31which offer better economics and more discreet presence for official travel.

01:36He elaborated that giving the plane to Trump would be, quote, a creative disposal strategy

01:42that marks, quote, a farewell to a bygone model of geopolitical theater in the skies.

01:49The arid peninsula off Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, similar in size to Connecticut, boasts

01:54deep reserves of oil and gas that have made the country the fourth wealthiest in the world

01:59by per capita GDP and enriched its rulers, the House of Thani.

02:04The family has plowed some of their wealth into an extravagant fleet of roughly a dozen

02:09Airbus and Boeing airliners converted into luxurious rides for a small number of passengers, as well

02:15as smaller business jets from Bombardier and Dassault.

02:20That includes the 747 coveted by Trump, which was given the tail number A7HBJ.

02:26The initials of billionaire Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who served as Prime Minister

02:32of Qatar from 2007 to 2013.

02:36It's one of three 747-8s currently in the Royal Air Fleet, which is managed by an entity

02:41called Qatar Amiri Flight.

02:44When the plane was bought in 2012, its list price was $367 million, not including the interior,

02:51which took three years to complete and likely cost tens of millions of dollars.

02:56Unlike the passenger version of the 747-8, which can seat 467 people, the HBJ Jet is a flying

03:04mansion designed for just 89 passengers, with two bedrooms, entertainment and meeting rooms,

03:10and a sumptuous beige and cream-colored interior created by the Parisian design house Cabinet

03:15Pinto that features furnishings made of sycamore and wakapu wood, silk fabrics, and natural leather.

03:23The 747, which entered service in 1970, revolutionized air travel by making long-distance air travel affordable

03:31for a mass market.

03:33But its four big engines make for high costs in an era of higher fuel prices.

03:39As of 2019, the VIP version of the 747-8 cost an eye-popping $23,000 an hour to operate, according

03:47to Corporate Jet Investor.

03:50Over the past decade, airlines have been retiring the 747 and Airbus' four-engine A340 in favor

03:57of more efficient twin-engine widebodies like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, as well as

04:03longer-range narrowbodies.

04:06Like Qatar, a number of royal families and governments have also been moving away from

04:11fuel-guzzling four-engine palaces in the sky, including Saudi Arabia, Brunei, the UAE, and

04:18Germany.

04:19Beyond poor fuel efficiency, large ostentatious planes are a security risk, notes Richard Aboulafia,

04:26an aerospace consultant with Aerodynamic Advisory.

04:29He says, quote,

04:31These things are big targets.

04:33Also, according to John Goglia, a former airline mechanic and member of the U.S. National Transportation

04:39Safety Board, giving the 747-8 to the U.S. would allow the Qataris to avoid maintenance

04:44costs that are only getting higher with the 747 fleet shrinking worldwide and fewer mechanics

04:50available who know how to work on them.

04:54For full coverage, check out Jeremy Bogasky's piece on Forbes.com.

05:00This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:02Thanks for tuning in.

Category

Transcript

Recommended