Well, I couldn't think of anything to say that didn't repeat the title. I'm a man of few words and was hoping someone in a position of knowledge would jump in and share it with the rest of us.

MSNBC just carried a story about AF ferrying one back from JFK. They commented about the cost of design changes, suggesting they would be prohibitive. I work in aerospace, and when someone wants us to make design changes to something we built a long time ago our quote has a lot of zeros, so that's a serious concern.

First someone has to scope the mods. If BA's engineers decide (and convince the authorities) that reinforcing the wing tanks with flak-jacket material is all that's needed, and are comfortable doing that in-house, we'll see them in the air again. If they have to go back to the factory (is there still a consortium?) my uninformed guess would be that the quote they'd get wouldn't get by their financial people.

Of course, if we could convince Clinton or his successor that he needs one to be Air Force One, the budgetary picture would change. Anyone got his ear?