The Boeing jumbo jet that has flown American presidents for over 35 years touched down at Joint Base Andrews before dawn Thursday, prompting senior White House aides to post tributes signaling that a Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 is about to replace it as Air Force One.

The Air Force said, however, that the old planes are not being retired yet.

Steven Cheung, White House communications director, posted a photo on X of VC-25A tail number 92-9000 with the caption, "Well done, good and faithful servant. The Last Ride," after the jet returned President Donald Trump from the G7 summit in France.

White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino followed with a video and wrote, "I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 1/2 years, of the 35 years it has been serving U.S. Presidents."

U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley said she had been "honored to be aboard Air Force One last night on its final flight."

The Air Force pushed back against the implication that the aircraft's retirement was imminent.

A service spokesperson told The War Zone that the VC-25B Bridge aircraft, the designation for the modified Qatari 747-8i, will soon join the executive airlift fleet "alongside the VC-25A," and confirmed that both VC-25As will remain in the active fleet for now.

The Bridge plane completed modifications and flight testing in early May after roughly a year of accelerated work by L3Harris in Texas, and is being painted in the red, white, gold and blue livery selected at Trump's direction.

The Air Force said the program "epitomizes what is possible when clear accountability is placed on one individual," in a statement from Gen. Dale White, the service's direct reporting portfolio manager for critical major weapon systems.

The Bridge aircraft is a stopgap.

The two purpose-built VC-25Bs that Boeing has been retrofitting under a 2018 contract are now expected to begin delivery in mid-2028, years past their original 2024 target.

The Government Accountability Office has pegged total program costs at roughly $5.6 billion, up from an initial $3.9 billion estimate, while the Air Force estimates the Qatari conversion will run under $400 million.

Critics in both parties have called the arrangement a constitutional and security risk.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth accepted the jet as an unconditional donation to the War Department, which is responsible for its maintenance, and the plane is slated to be transferred to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term.

Democrats have labeled the gift a bribe and challenged the use of taxpayer funds to refit an aircraft that will fly the president for only the balance of his term.

Trump's first flight on the new jet has not been determined, but he is considering using it for a July 3 trip to Mount Rushmore tied to the nation's 250th anniversary, two news outlets reported, citing officials familiar with the planning.

Reuters earlier reported the Bridge aircraft could debut during a Fourth of July flyover.