Trump's history with the airline industry: gold-leafed seat belts and a failed airline

Now that Donald Trump is a presidential candidate, what is he flying, you ask?

In 2011, gearing up for his 2102 run at the presidency, Donald Trump upgraded his paltry Boeing 727 for a nice little Boeing 757 he bought from Microsoft’s co-founder Paul Allen for a cool $100 million. According to the New York Post, he then outfitted the already state-of-the-art Boeing 757 with a full-size bedroom, his-and-her closets, gold-leafed seat belts (and faucets), and a suede ceiling.

But how would people know the plane was his from the outside? Don’t worry; to this day, you can still see the emblazoned TRUMP in gold letters on the outside as he crisscrosses the campaign trail.

If that doesn’t fit his needs, he can fall back on his Cessna Citation X, a smaller corporate jet that holds just 12 passengers. He went understated on this one; only the gold Trump family crest is emblazoned on the aircraft. And then, of course, there are his twin helicopters, Sikorsky model S-76B.

Lest you be fooled in thinking Trump was some sort of aviation industry expert, let’s journey back to 1988. Shall we?

That was the year Trump bought the failing Eastern Airlines for more than $350 million. The carrier was going to ply the Northeastern skies, covering well-worn routes like New York to Boston and Washington DC. He gave the fleet of 17 planes the Trump Treatment (and name, of course), including chrome seat belts and gold-colored faucets in the lavatories (what? we’re not good enough for gold-plated?).

Turned out passengers didn’t need maple veneer wood floors. The airline folded in three years, and defaulted on its loans within one year.

But, fear not. If you're ever on a US Airways airplane that's at least 25 years old, you could be that much closer to Trump. The carrier bought the 17 aircraft and, assumedly, some are still flying today. Otherwise, book your own private jet with the latest crop of Uber-loving airline companies.