Ocn Vw 1K

Thanks to all the members who've kept the thread focused on the travel aspects of Presidential flights and travel. One post which clearly got into political/OMNI aspects has just been deleted. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Non-NonRev

I remember a number of years ago when I was at CDG for a flight home to the US. I had planned to arrive early to get some lounge time, and upon arrival found the airport in chaos. I learned that the airport had already been closed for over two hours, as Boris Yeltsen was scheduled to leave for Moscow after meeting with the French president. Yeltsen was on board his plane, but departure was being delayed for some reason. Flight operations were at a standstill until his plane finally took off. My flight ended up leaving about two hours late, as the airport gradually caught up with the backlog.

FC ORD

Does anyone have any insight on why UA 940 from ORD to FRA was delayed yesterday evening (not a huge delay; only 2.5 hours)? My daughter on the flight said boarding was delayed a bit, but after boading the FAs gave several different explanations for the delays including servicing the plane, a cargo issue, delays in reaching cargo, etc.
President Obama was also arriving. When the President lands, are all the flights "grounded" with other explanations given?
Thanks

buckeyefanflyer

Yes, then Air Force 1 is landing or taking off, there will will be some delays but not that long. Maybe at the most 1/2 hour unless there was alot of traffic at the time.

fastair

Don't know bout 940 specifically, but AF1 flew in to ORD 2 days ago, messing up ATC for a few hours, then left yesterday morning, messing up ATC again for a period, then came back again after the hour photo op in the gulf, only to mess up ATC again.

In the immortal words of Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the king!" I wonder what in Chicago was worth coming to for the 1st night, instead of skipping that leg, and going from WAS to the gulf, then just once into ORD.

NoVaRS

Thursday night going from MSP to ORD we were about to board and were stopped when ORD was hit with a 45 minute security stop due to the President (according to the GA). This had a ripple effect - ATC had flow control (according to pilot due to security stop) so we were delayed even further.

fastair

This is ORD. With 2 planes landing every minute, and a holiday weekend, there is alot of traffic. During most week days, ORD is scheduled at very close to the maximum the airport can take. A 30min (or longer as the case really is) stop, causes huge ripples that continue on for the entire day and into the night.

unavaca

His return leg would have been cancelled if he skipped the first leg of his itinerary.

flyinbob

Presidential Mileage Run! ^

ucla99

Was leaving ORD on Monday and flight delayed due to "Presidential VIP" Didn't see AF1, but did see a few of the Marine One helicoptors and a cargo plane land while we were waiting on the runway for a takeoff.

adambadam

If the President is going on a shorter trip, for example that time he went up to NYC with the First Lady for date night, they have a slew of smaller jets they can use. However, the call sign, AF1 will stick with him for whatever USAF plane he is on. If I recall correctly it was a Gulfstream or a Learjet that day.

EDIT: One of the larger reasons that he needs a 747 is that he travels with a large entourage from his own staff to the White House Press Corp. Its not like the plane is flying totally empty.

ralfp

Calling it Executive One is a great giveaway... wouldn't it be more secure if the POTUS's plane wasn't called ___ One?

If it weren't for cell phones I would not be surprised if the POTUS would be more secure if he just secretly hopped on random commercial flights. (One of those times that security through obscurity works because of the short lifespan of the usefulness of the secret).

If the POTUS is on Marine One, what are the escorting (decoy?) helicopters called?

MKE (yes, an ANG at a civilian airport) would certainly cause less disruption to civilian air traffic. Then take Navy One to Navy Pier (I am aware that Navy One would actually be an aircraft.)

Wright-Patterson is actually slightly closer than Scott is to CHI (as the bird flies).

AndyPatterson

Why does Air Force One occasionally use Dulles instead of Andrews? Last June, I was flying on Virgin America to SFO, and we were told that the takeoff would be slightly delayed as AF 1 was arriving. Sure enough, as we taxied out, we could see the plane on the ground, between the B and C concourses, with the smaller AF 737 parked behind it (the press plane).

But, the president was already in the White House that day -- as confirmed by CNN, which we could see live (!) on Virgin America (which has live TV, unlike UA), so it seems odd that the plane was not positioned in Andrews. The president flew from IAD to Riyadh that evening to meet with the King before going on to Egypt the following day for his speech to the Muslim world, and then to Normandy for D-Day.

Anyway, I never figured out why AF1 was in Dulles instead of Andrews. Any ideas?

Non-NonRev

Maybe the POTUS was scheduled to make an intermediate stop in Virginia after leaving the White House but before departing for the overseas trip?

DullesJason

I've sort of long wondered why the 747 must be used for domestic trips. I realize the main justifications are to fit all the press, and some security concerns, but really, for domestic, I don't see the need. Send the press commercial or on a separate charter. Any plane the President flies in is of course always going to be Air Force One, so why not take a an Air Force 757 or smaller and land at a less congested airport? I guess the ability to maintain unlimited flight (KC-10 airborne refueling) in case of attack would be the main reason this won't happen.