Jaunted

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It's Not Every Day That Air Force One Goes Up For Sale

An unattainable dream is about to come true. Someone who is not the President nor in the government will be able to say that they are now the owner of Air Force One*.

The aircraft—a DC-9 with seats for 42 travelers—may not be the jumbo jet 747 we're so used to seeing presidents emerge from on state visits, but nabbing this plane for a starting bid of $50,000 isn't half bad. For that amount of money, The Telegraph notes, one could "only run Mr Obama's main presidential aircraft for a quarter of an hour."

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A Few Excuses for Delaying a Return from Vacation

So you want to take a later flight or stay an extra day on vacation? Let's think of some excuses involving air travel for you to use, so long as you're aware that blasting your fun on social media could ruin everything.

· Best excuse:
President Obama made you late thanks to an Air Force One landing. This can be easily checked with a Google search to see where Obama spoke that day, but if you're lucky and experience the real thing, that 2pm arrival time could turn into 4pm...and then there's just no point to go to work, right?

· Easiest excuse:
The flight was full and they asked for volunteers. You gave up your seat for a pregnant woman. Easy-peasy.

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Obama-Around-The-World / Presidential Travel / Barack Obama / Mumbai Travel / Political Travel / India Travel / Air Force One / → All Tags

Obama's Long, Busy Weekend in India Included the Gandhi Museum

Despite that whole $200 million/day vacation trip myth clouding President Obama's visit to India this weekend, it looks as though the brief stop in Mumbai went off without a hitch. Mr. and Mrs. Obama arrived to India for a 3-day stop as part of an Asian tour to talk foreign economic relations.

Hopefully they caught some Zzzs onboard Air Force One, because over the weekend while in both New Delhi and Mumbai, they dropped by the Holy Name High School and another elementary and college for Diwali celebrations, Humayan's Tomb (pictured above) for some sightseeing, Mumbai's port for a speech, and Mani Bhawan Gandhi Museum (for Barack) and Kamathipura (for Michelle) for goodwill. On top of all this, the pair stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel, where they visited the memorial to those killed in the terrorist attacks on hotels almost exactly two years ago.

Today, Barack will address Indian parliament before flying off to his next stop, Indonesia. The next week will also see the Obamas landing in South Korea and Japan.

[Photo: AFP/Getty]

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Boeing Has More Than Just The 787 In Its Garage

There’s been a rash of news about the new Boeing 787, but unfortunately it’s usually bad news about delays, issues, and other minor disasters that have prevented the plane from taking flight. However, the engineers and assembly line workers at Boeing do have something to smile about this holiday season. Their newest version of the jumbo jet has rolled out of the garage, and the 747-8 is the biggest airplane that they have ever built.

It kind of looks like any other 747 flying around the globe, but Boeing wants everyone to know that it’s not. Most of the plane is made up of new materials, and it has a totally new design for its wings. It even stole the 787’s more fuel efficient engines and took some of its ideas for fancy electronics inside the cockpit. The airplane builder is hoping to set this new bird up to compete with the Airbus A380, which can hold over 550 passengers. The new 747 is certainly smaller than the competition, but it still will be able to hold 467 passengers and Boeing claims its more fuel efficient on a per passenger basis. Being a little greener is always a good selling point.

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Obama Can Has Cheezburger On Air Force One Elect

While the rest of us are mulling our transportation options to Washington, DC for the inauguration festivities, President-Elect Barack Obama is (obvz!) already there. The New York Times reports that Obama and his family left Chicago last night in one of the Air Force planes used to ferry presidents and top government officials. However, only the plane that the (current) president is actually flying in can be called Air Force One. And since Obama is still president-elect, we're calling this plane Air Force One Elect.

Says the Times:

The Boeing 757-200, part of the Air Force’s Special Air Mission fleet, bore the distinctive blue and white colors and the words United States of America.

Mr. Obama greeted Air Force members at the plane and ascended its red-carpet steps, stopped near the door’s presidential seal and waved to reporters, saying, "See you in DC." On board he met Col. Scott Turner, who will pilot Air Force One when Mr. Obama becomes president, and Reggie Dickson, who will be his chief flight attendant. From Mr. Dickson, he ordered a cheeseburger, fries and water.

So it IS good to be president after all. What we would do for a cheeseburger, fries and water on an airplane without having to either buy a first-class ticket or pay $12. Apparently, the answer is to become president.

Until he officially takes office, Obama will be shacking up at the ritzy Hay-Adams Hotel. If you're heading to town for the inauguration, we got you covered on things to do while staking out the hotel.

Related Stories:
· Emotional Trip on Plane Bound for the Presidency [NYT]