Boeing CEO Says Progress Made on 'Simplifying Requirements' for Air Force One After Trump Meeting

Boeing (NYSE: BA) CEO Dennis Muilenburg told reporters Tuesday after his hour-long meeting with President-elect Donald Trump that the company has moved forward on efforts in “simplifying requirements” for the future Air Force One replacement airplane with combat jets also a topic of discussion there.

Trump first criticized the presidential aircraft program on his Twitter feed Dec. 6 for costs “out of control, more than $4 billion and called for the cancellation of the contract to build two new 747-8 airplanes.

The meeting also covered Boeing’s efforts to use commercial best practices in military aircraft programs through “streamlining the process (and) streamlining certification, Muilenberg said in remarks to the pool at Trump Tower aired on CNBC.

“All that is going to provide a better airplane at a lower cost. I’m pleased with the progress there. Similarly on fighters, we were able to talk about options for the country and capabilities that will… provide the best capability for our warfighters most affordably, ” Muilenberg added.

This meeting came four days after Trump met with Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) CEO Marillyn Hewson to discuss the F-35 fighter jet program’s costs.

Trump said in a Dec. 22 Twitter post he asked Boeing to price out a comparable version of its F-18 Super Hornet combat plane to the F-35.

Shares in Boeing were down $1.07 to $157.76 as of 1 p.m. Eastern time, while Lockheed’s stock was lower $0.38 to $254.15.

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index sat nearly 0.58 percent lower to 88.355 as of 12:40 p.m. Eastern time as the S&P 500 composite index was down 0.21 percent.

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