$181,757... the staggering hourly cost of running Air Force One

• And, boy, does President Obama like that plane

It's the coolest perk going for the U.S. President, but a pretty expensive runaround.

Air Force One, the name popularly given to the Boeing 747 VC-25A which ferries Barack Obama around the world, costs $181,757 per hour, it has emerged.

The U.S. military confirmed the staggering figure, which could buy a house for the average American.

On his travels: President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland on Tuesday for a visit to the Chrysler Indiana Transmission Plant in Indiana

Demian Brady, of the National Taxpayers' Union Foundation, said: 'It’s astonishing. It’s far higher than any other ... figure that’s been reported on.

'It’s very surprising, and of course it’s just a fraction of the overall cost involved with presidential travel.'

Asked why other public estimates, which typically did not exceed $100,000, were so much lower, he said: 'They were probably inaccurate.'

Obama's globetrotting of late won't have done anything to bring the cost down either.

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High price: Obama's recent trip to India and South-East Asia cost $8.7million for the use of Air Force One alone

THE PLANE FACTS

Although the plane is popularly known as Air Force One, this is technically the call sign of any Air Force aircraft carrying the president.

In practice, it refers to one of two highly customised Boeing 747-200B series aircraft, which carry the tail codes 28000 and 29000.

Capable of refuelling midair (as seen in the Harrison Ford film, Air Force One), it has unlimited range.

Other features:

• Onboard electronics, hardened to protect against an electromagnetic pulse.
• Advanced secure communications equipment, allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command centre.
• 4,000 sq ft of floor space on three levels, including an extensive suite for the president with a large office, lavatory, and conference room.
  
• Medical suite that can function as an operating room, and a doctor is permanently on board.
  
• Two food preparation galleys that can feed 100 people at a time.

The recent ten-day trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan - with 48 hours of flight time logged - would have cost $8.7million for Air Force One alone.

Mr Brady dismissed as 'wildly exaggerated' the figure quoted by an anonymous source in one Indian newspaper that the entire trip would have cost U.S. taxpayers $200million per day.

The Obama administration also shot down that figure, without detailing the actual cost.

The president’s latest visit to Lisbon, Portugal, for a Nato conference would add another $2.7million, Mr Brady estimated.

That Lisbon trip also set a record for Obama.

He has now chalked up 55 days overseas, surpassing former President George H.W. Bush’s record of 54 days during his first two years.

In total, Obama has visited 26 countries - some of them more than once - over the course of 15 trips.

He will have to go some way to beat the record for overseas travel however.

Former President Bill Clinton managed 233 days abroad over the course of 55 trips.

Former President George W. Bush comes in at a close second, with 215 days abroad over the course of 49 trips.

Up and away: Obama wears an AF1 jacket on his first flight aboard Air Force One from Andrews Air Force Base to Newport News, Virginia in 2009