Rules To Follow
Although it is in the POTUS privy of power to order new aircraft to serve as Air Force One, there are specific rules that must be followed. The purchase must be made within the second term of the sitting president. The reason for this is so that the aircraft will not be delivered within that president’s term of office, thusly preventing the ordering president to actually use the plane. The president, in reality, is purchasing the plane for the use of future presidents, not for his own use. Along with Reagan and Eisenhower, Obama set aside money in his second term to purchase a new Air Force One.
Image: USA Today