President Obama flew to Israel last week to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres. With this unscheduled visit, Obama is now in second place for most international presidential travel behind Bill Clinton who made 55 treks abroad. There is just one more trip on Obama’s itinerary before his term expires. He is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru this November.
The Air Force One flight costs for this trip exceed $4 million. Obama left Thursday for a ten and a half hour flight to Tel Aviv. Following the funeral services he proceeded back to Washington, DC. He is expected to return to Andrews Air Force Base Friday evening after stopping to refuel in Bangor, Maine. By the latest estimate, it costs over $180,000 per flight hour to operate the President's aircraft, which is a modified military version of a Boeing 747.