Donald Trump has taken a swipe at Boeing, builders of Air Force One. This is an age in which a president-elect can tweet “Cancel order!” and we all come running. It is not his first assault on the presidential aircraft.

A year ago, Trump boasted to Rolling Stone magazine that his private plane, a Boeing 757-200, “was bigger than Air Force One, which is a step down from this in every way”.

Air Force One is longer, wider and taller than Trump’s plane , but perhaps he meant “bigger” metaphorically. Anyhow, his plane has features that suggest grandeur in a way that might overwrite statistics.

There is a 24-carat gold-plated sink. Sockets and seatbelt clasps, service buttons and trims glint with the same gilt sheen. It has been said that there is so much gold plate, it could be melted down to coat a Greyhound bus. Perhaps someone could do that, and then the president-elect would have another transport option.

The ceilings are suede, the seats of finest leather, there is a mohair divan that converts to a full-size bed for guests. The walls of Trump’s bedroom are lined with gold-coloured silk.

Air Force One is less lavish but there is plenty of wood and leather and a similar predominance of beige and taupe. There is a shower aboard both aircraft.

And plenty of crests. Trump’s family emblem decorates cushions and is stitched into leather headrests. The Potus seal appears on crockery, napkin rings and seatbelts.

Both planes have theatre equipment. Air Force One has a surgical theatre, or at least the physician’s room can transform into one, with a fold-down table (a bit like a fold-down changing mat).

Trump’s plane has a movie theatre with a 57” screen, a Hollywood-quality sound system and 1,000 DVDs. A special “T” button allows guests to select from the president-elect’s own favourite films. These include An Affair to Remember and Air Bud, but alas the video tour does not show enough of the alphabetically arranged titles to know if he also likes Air Force One.

Trump’s plane contains a dining area, lounge area and guest quarters, but the emphasis is on comfort — a normal 757-200 seats more than 220 passengers, but Trump’s will take only 43. Air Force One is work-fit. There is an Oval office, a conference room and more than 80 telephones, both secure and insecure lines.

Air Force One has security features that Trump has until now not needed, the ability to refuel midair and to ward off surface-to-air missiles, for instance.

The Boeing 747-200B jets that usually operate as Air Force One (the phrase is a call sign for any aircraft carrying the president, rather than a reference to a particular model) are due to be replaced because of their age. The first of the current aircraft was delivered in 1990.

And here is the final similarity between Trump Force One and the presidential aircraft. Trump’s 757 was built in 1991. Perhaps the president-elect can get a deal on a double upgrade.

—By arrangement with the Guardian

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2016