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President Trump Takes His First Ride on Air Force One

Donald Trump already has his own plane, but it's still a special occasion when a president completes his first flight on one of the two Boeing 747s th
Image: Donald Trump
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One as arrives at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 26.Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
By Matthew Nighswander

Donald Trump already had his own plane, but it's still a special occasion when a president flies on Air Force One for the first time. Trump traveled to Philadelphia Thursday where he spoke at the House and Senate GOP lawmakers annual policy retreat.

Trump's own plane is big, but at 155 feet it can't compete with the 231-foot Boeing 747 — two of which operate as Air Force One. Trump's plane seats 43 but more than 100 can pile onto the president’s jet. Gold-plated seat belts, however, can only be found on the Trump plane.

Image: Donald Trump
Military personnel salute as Air Force One, with President Donald Trump aboard, departs at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Jan. 26.Jose Luis Magana / AP
Image: Trump arrives aboard Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia
President Donald Trump arrives aboard Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 26.Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

VIDEO: Trump Plane vs. Air Force One

Matthew Nighswander

Matt Nighswander joined NBCNews.com as a multimedia producer in July 2012. Nighswander is part of the team responsible for selecting photos for the site and creating original content based on photography. Among his individual responsibilities is the Month in Space slideshow. Nighswander reports to James Collins, director of photography.

Nighswander joined NBCNews.com from MSN.com, where he was a lead homepage photo editor. 

Prior to his work at MSN, he was an international photo editor at The Associated Press and received an MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago.