White House officials bid farewell to Air Force One plane used since 1990

Mallory WilsonFri, June 19, 2026 at 3:20 PM UTC

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Editor's note: This story has been corrected to indicate the Boeing 747 "29000" is not being retired by the Air Force.

President Trump became the last president to fly aboard one of the heavily customized Boeing 747-200s operating as Air Force One, as it made its final flight to bring the commander in chief back from Europe earlier this week.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote early Thursday on the social platform X, sharing a picture of the plane. "The Last Ride."

White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino also bid the aircraft farewell with a video of the plane posted on social media.

"I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 ½ years — of the 35 years it has been serving the U.S. Presidents…THANK YOU…," he wrote.

The Air Force designation for the aircraft is VC-25A, according to the White House, and there are currently two Boeing 747-200s that are in use as Air Force One: 29000 and another with the tail number 28000.

The first president to fly aboard the aircraft with tail number 29000 was George H.W. Bush in 1990.

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There are three 747-800s being outfitted now to serve as presidential aircraft, including a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government, referred to by the Air Force as VC-25B, or the "bridge" plane. The Air Force signaled in May that the Qatari plane was on track to be used as a temporary Air Force One as soon as this summer. The service said it had finished modifying and testing the new plane.

The plane will be used to "relieve pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet," said Gen. Dale White, the Department of Defense's direct reporting portfolio manager for critical major weapons systems, in a May statement.

An Air Force spokesperson told NBC News last week the "VC-25As will continue to serve in the executive fleet and could still be used by the president as Air Force One."

The two other planes expected from Boeing have been repeatedly delayed. They were originally expected in 2024 but are now expected in mid-2028.

The planes will feature a whole new color scheme of red, white, gold, and navy blue, which is Trump's preference. Current and past planes featured a two-toned lighter blue color scheme.

at 2:20 p.m. EDT

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