If former Vice President Joseph Biden is elected the 46th President of the United States, he’ll be flying aboard several government owned aircraft that are designated Air Force One whenever POTUS is aboard.
For the time being, he has recently been seen boarding and deplaning from a Boeing 737-59D that was delivered in 1991, according to records from the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to the website of KaiserAir, Inc., the current operator, the typical configuration for charters is 60 seats arranged in a 2 x 2 layout, comparable to what you find in first class on a short-haul domestic airliner. It’s also possible the cabin has been modified, perhaps adding banks of facing seats, conference tables and so forth.
One of three 737s in Kaiser’s fleet, typical use, according to the company, includes VIP charters for corporations, athletic teams, families and other large groups.
Biden’s aircraft is 109 feet, 9 inches long. In a single class configuration it can hold up to 149 passengers, although Boeing puts the number at 110 seats in a two-cabin layout.
It’s longer than the original 737, which measured 93 feet, 9 inches. However, it’s considerably shorter than the MAX 10 at 143 feet, 8 inches, which can carry up to 230 passengers.
While Boeing also makes derivatives of the 737 under the Boeing Business Jet moniker that are customized for private jet owners, the vice president’s aircraft has an interesting history over its nearly three decades of flying.
According to Airfleets.net, it was delivered to Linjeflyg on April 15, 1991, a Swedish domestic carrier that ceased operations in 1993. It then moved briefly to SAS Scandinavian Airlines for two months before finding a home with now defunct BMI British Midland Airways. It stayed there until early 2001 then donning the colors of Luxair, the national carrier of Luxembourg for another four years. From there it headed to CSA Czech Airlines. Starting in 2009, it spent a year with Aeroflot-Nord before moving to Nordavia Regional Airlines (now Smartavia), and finally coming to KaiserAir in 2014.
While it may look like the 737 Hillary Clinton used for her campaign in 2016, it’s not. The former secretary of state’s version was a -800 type, which is 129 feet, 6 inches in length. Her airplane also started its life as a passenger jet, first with Air Berlin in 2002, then with Russian airline Orenair and Corendon Dutch Airlines. After her campaign, it took the livery of budget carrier Norwegian International and is currently with RoyalFlight, a discount airline in the former Soviet Union.
Of course, when it comes to airplanes, for passengers, beauty is what’s under the skin. President Donald J. Trump’s private 757, despite its ritzy interior, started life carrying around ordinary Jakobs in service for defunct Danish budget airline Sterling Airways. It then flew for also out-of-business Mexican low-cost airline TAESA prior to being converted to a private jet for the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Trump’s previous airliner, a 1968 Boeing 727-200, spent its first 13 years of life flying for American Airlines.
Without doubt, none of the passengers who boarded these aircraft when they were brand new from Boeing ever dreamed who would be following in their footsteps decades later.
Credit: Doug Gollan (Travel Writer at Forbes Magazine)
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