In 2018, Boeing signed a contract with the federal government to build a pair of aircraft that would serve as Air Force One.

Yet as Business Insider reported on Friday, that deal has turned into a financial disaster for the aerospace giant. 

Company has lost roughly $2 billion since taking on Air Force One project

Boeing's third-quarter earnings report was released last week, and it showed that the company lost $482 million on construction of the two 747-200B jumbo jets.

That brings the total loss Boeing has taken on the project to roughly $2 billion. What's more, CNN noted last Wednesday that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has acknowledged that the company made a mistake in taking on the job.

"Air Force One, I’m just going to call a very unique moment, a very unique negotiation. But we are where we are," Calhoun was quoted as saying in April of last year.

Much of the difficulty stems from the fact that then-President Donald Trump threatened to cancel Boeing's contract unless it entered into a fixed-price agreement.

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016

Boeing CEO says company is "committed to delivering two exceptional airplanes"

Under the agreement's new provisions, the company became completely liable for any cost overruns associated with the project.

According to CNN, Calhoun reiterated that message during a conference call with investors on Wednesday, stating, "In a fixed price environment, any unplanned hurdles can introduce unrecoverable costs."

Boeing lost another $482 million in the third quarter on the new Air Force One aircraft.https://t.co/8boADErfdH

— Business Insider Africa (@BusInsiderSSA) October 27, 2023

"At the end of the day, we have two airplanes to build. We’re getting past these hurdles and are committed to delivering two exceptional airplanes for our customer," he stressed.

Air Force One project is a significant factor in Boeing's third-quarter loss

Meanwhile, Boeing executive vice president and chief financial officer Brian West explained that the Air Force One contract had played a significant part in the company's 16.9% quarterly loss.

"These are disappointing results in the quarter and year to date," the corporate executive acknowledged to Boeing's stockholders.

"This performance is below our expectations, and we acknowledge that we aren’t as far along in this recovery as we expected to be at this stage," he went on to add.