There are few major aviation markets today in which the Boeing 767 remains a mainstay of commercial passenger operations, with the majority of operators across the globe retiring the jet years ago. The aircraft once played an important role in the fleets of operators like British Airways, Air France, LATAM, Air Canada, EL AL, and Aeromexico. Elsewhere, the jet was even operated by Air New Zealand .
A rare sight today Today, however, the plane has been removed from the bulk of global long-haul fleets with just a few noteworthy exceptions, primarily in the United States. When flying any route across the Atlantic or from the US to South America on Delta Air Lines or United Airlines, you are more than likely to find yourself onboard a Boeing 767 than if you were flying on a non-US carrier. This raises an important question about the nature of the 767's success in the American market, and what has made the aircraft so conducive to the long-haul fleets of carriers like Delta and American.
While the 767 was once the best medium-sized widebody option for airlines operating 777s, 747s, A340s, and A380s on their high-demand routes, it has been eclipsed in both range and efficiency by modern twinjets like the Boeing 787. Nonetheless, there are a few structural reasons why the 767 has remained popular with American legacy carriers today and why it is not heading anywhere in the medium term. Some history To find a strong answer to this question, it is important to take a look at the history of the 767 and why the plane was developed in the first place.
The aircraft was introduced as the 7X7 program, and the first prototype took to the skies on 26 September 1981. The origins of the 767 were clear from Boeing's end. Specifically, the aircraft was designed to serve as a complement to the larger 747, and it would also be optimized for freight transport in the plane's cargo hold.
The aircraft was meant to serve the following key purposes: Provide transoceanic range with lower capacity. Offer improved efficiency with twin engines. Cater to passenger airlines with strong freight demand.
With these purposes in mind, it is not difficult to understand why the 767 was so successful with US airlines specifically, as they care about low-demand transatlantic flights and maintain significant freight operations. In total, over 1,300 767s have rolled off of Boeing's production lines as of 2024, according to the manufacturer . Even more notably, the aircraft remains in production and will stay that way until 2027.
After this, stricter noise and emissions standards will prevent the aircraft from entering service. Despite the type's relatively old age, Delta Air Lines still has dozens of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft at its disposal. Today's operators In total, over 1,400 Boeing 767 aircraft were ordered, with over 100 still on order today from several operators.
However, relatively few of these aircraft remain today in scheduled passenger service, with many operated by charter airlines or cargo carriers. The four largest scheduled passenger operators of the 767 are displayed in the table below: Name of airline: Number of 767s in service Delta Air Lines 66 United Airlines 53 Japan Airlines 27 ANA 24 From this table, we can note that US carriers are the last airlines to operate large-scale passenger 767 fleets, with Japanese carriers also keeping the aircraft around. Beyond the top four, there are almost no carriers that operate large 767 fleets, with the fifth-largest operator being LATAM Chile, which maintains ten aircraft in its inventory.
Get all the latest aviation news for North America here! The plane, however, has become increasingly popular with cargo operators across the globe, including FedEx Express. This carrier stands out as the world's largest 767 operator, with 137 767-300F aircraft in service according to Airfleets . Other large-scale cargo 767 fleets include those of UPS, which flies 80 767 jets, and Amazon Air, which operates 55 jets.
Across the board, large-scale 767 fleets remain relatively rare today, with only a few markets seeming to support their operations. But airlines operating in the US passenger market, one of the most lucrative in the world, still have large numbers of 767 aircraft in their inventory. Over 20 airlines will fly the 767 for scheduled passenger services in 2024.
Other unique operators are big fans of 767 operations With an impressive ability to transport many passengers alongside a reasonable cargo capability, the Boeing 767 has become popular with charter operators, many of whom have been quick to add the widebody jet to their fleets. All the following carriers have the aircraft in their fleets: Omni Air International Atlas Air Eastern Airlines When set up in a VIP configuration, the Boeing 767 can transport around 100 passengers, while having the cargo capabilities to carry an impressive amount of equipment. This is ideal for some operators, like sports organizations, which have teams and support staff to transport, alongside lots of equipment that needs to make its way to games and events as well.
One notable Boeing 767 supporter is the New England Patriots , one of two teams in the National Football League (NFL) to operate their own dedicated aircraft. With a pair of 767s at the team's disposal, travel to away games within the United States (as well as to London for games that are part of the league's overseas expansion) could not be simpler. Unlike other sports, which have smaller teams with less equipment, NFL teams often require hundreds of people and thousands of pounds of cargo to be transported to away games.
As a result, teams often require a widebody aircraft, something that charter operators are aware of, and keep the plane around for the purpose. So why the US market? For US airlines, the 767's versatility was an impressive asset, one that makes it uniquely popular in the American market in comparison to those in Europe. Airlines like Delta and United Airlines use the 767 for several different purposes, and they can easily rotate the aircraft between transcontinental flights and long-haul connections.
Furthermore, the aircraft allows United and Delta to serve routes with lower levels of demand that cannot profitably be flown by larger aircraft like a 777 or the A350. While these carriers could serve these routes with a more efficient A330neo or Boeing 787, those aircraft have not yet entered their fleets in large enough numbers to fulfill such demand. As a result, airlines like United and Delta have used the 767 to facilitate the transition from older generation aircraft to modern medium-capacity widebodies like the 787 and A330neo.
These carriers can gather route data on routes far in advance of their deployment of new aircraft and can continue to innovate. United Airlines is certainly following this strategic plan, with all of its 767s scheduled for retirement by 2030. At this point, they will be replaced by Boeing 787s, of which the airline maintains 150 on order, according to the carrier .
Delta, which stands out as the largest passenger operator of the 767 and the largest 767-300ER operator , also plans to retire its aircraft by 2030, replacing them with modern and efficient A330neo jets. But despite these intended retirements, one should be aware that Delta, among others, has pushed back removing planes from service in the past. Given manufacturer delays slowing the arrival of new aircraft, one cannot be sure just how long the Boeing 767 will remain a key element of American widebody fleets.
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