Who pays for the travel in the Air Force One?

Their news organizations do. There are 13 press seats on Air Force One. The White House Travel Office bills each of those news organizations for each trip, using a complicated formula based on the the refundable first-class fare. read more

For purely political trips, a campaign reimburses the government for use of Air Force One. But trips that mix business with campaigning are murkier, rules-wise, and who pays is more opaque. read more

Federal taxpayers pay the costs of Air Force One. The exceptions are when the president is traveling for non-official reasons (vacation, political party events, etc) in which case they will be charged the equivalent first class fare rate. read more