When the President of the United States requests for two new refrigerating cellars to keep his cans of diet coke cold while travelling on his private plane, the money to make the expensive purchase comes from the average American’s pocket. But replacing plane cellars isn’t cheap – in fact, it will cost Air Force $24 million to sign the expensive contract with the aeronautics giant, Boeing.
$24 Million Presidential Upgrade
The contract has already been struck with Boeing, and the total cost for both of refrigerator units is estimated to be $23,657,671.
Air Force announced an upgrade to one of its VC-25 planes, saying that it will be replacing two of the five refrigerators aboard so that passengers and personnel can enjoy chilled drinks and cold cuts while staring out at the clouds through the window, thousands of feet above the ground. But don’t get too excited because it isn’t any commercial plane that is getting the luxurious upgrade, but the Boeing VC-25 used exclusively by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
The contract has already been struck with the aeronautics company Boeing, and the total cost of the two refrigerator units has totaled to a whopping $23,657,671. Guess who’s going to paying for this behemoth of a bill? Yes, you, my dear taxpayer…
The Plane has been in use since the year 1990, and due to the increased number of personnel onboard, Air Force One has recognized the need for better refrigerating cellars to keep food and drinks cold during long flights without having to make unnecessary stops to restock supplies.
The spokesperson for the air traffic control said the existing units inside the Air Force One planes have been in use for almost three decades and the technology is now extremely outdated which can only store food and beverages for short flights. The flight attendant staff had also reported frequent failures of the refrigerators which have diminished in their reliability over time.
The website said that the President and his Staff had some strange requirements when making the order for the equipment
The Refrigerators Are Expected to be Delivered in Late 2019
The newly designed Boeing refrigerators have an ample storage capacity of 70 cubic feet and can keep the contents fresh for several hours. Air Force explains that the 24 million price tag on the two units should also cover a detailed examination and certificate of approval by the Federal Aviation Administration. The refrigerator components will be pulled from factories in different cities including San Antonio and Oklahoma City, and the assembly of the units is expected to be completed by late 2019.
People are wondering if both Boeing VC-25s which serve as Air Force One need similar upgrades and whether the government has looked into cheaper alternatives which will be less heavy on the taxpayer’s pocket but, Air Force has denied to answer any additional questions. It was Defense One which first reported the news of the expensive upgrade to one of the presidential aircraft, explaining that the current storage system is inadequate for storing 3,000 meals that often need to be carried aboard.
The website also said that the President and his White House Staff had strange requirements for made-to-order equipment for their Air Force One Planes. In other words, there could be cheaper alternatives to the $24 million refrigerators but it’s an issue with the high-cost presidential requirements.
Trump Hates Soggy French Fries Onboard
The news also caught the attention of Eric Schultz, who served as Barak Obama’s senior adviser. Schulz took it to twitter to express his disapproval for Air Force’s decision to give in to Trump’s expensive demands. He said that if Obama had done something similar, he would have been impeached.
ABC news report stated that up to 100 lavish meals including expensive steaks, tenderloins, tiramisu and kebabs can be prepared on the Air Force One’s Planes, and due to Trump’s complain that airplane French fries can be soggy and cold, the plane had even set up a frying station aboard to satisfy the President’s French fry cravings. The planes need to stock up on the food before leaving the base since pre-curing food overseas is against the aircraft’s safety precautions.
In 2015, under the Obama Administration, Trump had criticized Air Force’s decision to add two more Boeing 747-8 planes to the presidential fleet with a price tag of $4 billion. The current president had said during his campaign that his own private planes were better than the ones used by Air Force One.
