http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5098126.stm
Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to get the go-ahead later this month for two "Blair Force One" planes to fly him on official trips, the BBC has learned.
One is likely to be a long-haul plane with 70 seats, while a 15-seater jet will be ordered for shorter flights, BBC correspondent James Hardy says.
Since 1944 US presidents have had their own plane, known as Air Force One.
Until now the PM has chartered planes or used the ageing Queen's Flight to take him on official business.
The planes will not be bought outright, but taken on a long lease.
Queen's Flight
The Royal Family will also have use of the new aircraft. Like government departments, they will pay the full cost of travel - a similar arrangement to chartering and not just fuel and staffing costs.
The long-haul plane, which is likely to be wide-bodied, with a separate VIP area and kitted out for modern communications, will be used in place of the British Airways 777 currently chartered by Downing Street.
US presidents have had their own planes since 1944 when Franklin Roosevelt started using the "Sacred Cow".
The "Air Force One" call sign was used in the 1950s for the presidential plane but it was President Kennedy's aircraft which first made the name popular. President Bush uses two Boeing 747-200B planes with the "Air Force One" tag.