Today, the 767 is arguably Boeing’s second most famous widebody airliner, after the 747. For the most part, this is due to the Boeing 767-200, which was among the best airliners of its day!
When the 767-200 was introduced in 1982, it was among the largest twinjets ever flown, being one of only two widebody twinjets. Due to this many people earnestly believed it would fail dismally. How wrong, they were…
If you flew on a 767 in the 1980’s and/or 1990’s, chances are high that it was a 767-200!
Pre-Boeing 767-200
The 1950’s had sparked what we know as the commercial jet age. The introduction of the first jet airliners like the Comet, Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, Convair 880 and Convair 990 revolutionized the airline industry.
The following decade would see the introduction of much larger airliners, namely the Boeing 747-100.
Despite the growth of previous decades, the 1970’s didn’t yield many new aircraft. For the most part, the 1970’s consisted of airlines acquiring updated variants of airliners released in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
In reality, the only new aircraft the industry got were trijets, such as the Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed Tristar. These jets were used on lower demand, long haul routes, where it didn’t make sense to use the large 747.
The only reason why airlines didn’t use much cheaper twinjets, was due to the regulations of the 1960’s. These rules, known as pre-ETOPS, essentially meant that no twinjet could fly more than 60 minutes away from an airport.
In essence, this made flying over the Atlantic impossible.
However, twinjet engine technology progressed immensely over the 1960’s. As a result ETOPS laws were put in place in the early 1970’s, changing from 60 minutes to 120 minutes. This made twinjet transatlantic flying eminently possible!
As a result, airlines began to demand a long-range twinjet it could use to replace its comparatively expensive trijets…
Development
In 1974, the newly formed Airbus released what it called the A300. This was a widebody twinjet airliner, which had the capacity and range to rival those of the early 747s.
Naturally, this threatened Boeing. Prior to this, airlines in both Europe and North America came to Boeing for jets, but the success of the A300 illustrated to Boeing that Airbus was a clear and present danger.
Even US airlines were considering buying the jet!
As such, Boeing launched what it called the 7X7. This would be a jet that essentially out-competed the A300 in every regard. To accomplish this, Boeing spent billions renovating and expanding its Everett factory, which also built the 747.
In order to save on costs, the 7X7 would be designed alongside the 7N7 (eventually the 757-200). Boeing developed the 7N7 in the hopes of creating a jet in between the 737 and 767, hopefully to steal some sales from the A300.
Boeing would begin development of the 7X7 in the mid-to-late 1970’s, before revealed in 1978, with the designation of Boeing 767. Here, Boeing revealed two variants of the 767, which it called the 767-100 and 767-200.
Whilst airlines loved the 767-200, many weren’t that interested in the 767-100. This was because its seating was too similar to the 757-200’s, which many airlines had placed orders for only months prior.
Operational History
The Boeing 767-200 would first fly on September 26 1981, before quickly being entered into service with United Airlines, in September the following year. From here, it would go on to have a rather interesting operational history…
Commercial
Whilst United may have been the 767-200’s launch customer, they were certainly not the only airline to operate the type. In reality, the 767-200 has proven to be quite a popular commercial jet among airlines!
The first eleven orders for the 767-200 were placed by United. Delta would follow up with their own order, similarly receiving all of their new jets before the end of 1982.
Following this, a number of other airlines would acquire their own 767-200s until 1994, when Boeing ceased production of the type, due to the introduction of the 767-300 and later, the 767-400.
Although different airlines would operate the Boeing 767-200 on different routes, depending on their own needs, most airlines flew the 767-200 on transatlantic routes to begin with, before shifting to transpacific routes in the late 1990’s.
By the mid-2000’s, however, the Boeing 767-200 was fast approaching its 30th birthday. As a result, most major airlines began replacing the jet with newer variants of the 767 family, most often the 767-400, but also the 767-300.
Thanks to this, a number of smaller airlines began to acquire second-hand 767-200s from major airlines. Here, the 767-200 would often serve as that airline’s flag carrier, or sometimes, the airline’s entire fleet!
For the most part, many of these airlines continue to operate the 767-200, however, a few have been retired in favor of newer 767-300s.
Cargo
Up until only relatively recently, the 767-200 has been one of only a handful of aircraft that haven’t had a cargo variant, much to the dismay of many cargo airlines.
Whilst annoying for many cargo airlines, this was done in order to safeguard the 767-300F. This is a factory-designed cargo variant of the 767-300, which is superior to the older 767-200 (there’s also more profit in it for Boeing too!)
Alas, some cargo airlines were not satisfied…
Over the course of the early 2000’s, all major airlines who operated the Boeing 767-200, began to retire them. Whilst many were stored, many more were sold on the open market.
Seeing this, a number of cargo airlines would acquire these former passenger airliners and convert them into freighters. From here, they’d be placed mostly on mid-to-high demand transcontinental and transpacific routes.
Wanting to get in on the action, Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) won a contract from Boeing to provide these conversions, simply converting them from airliners to freighters, where they’d be designated as the 767-200SF.
However, in 2014, Boeing announced that they would also be creating an updated version of the 767-200 which can act as a freighter. With that being said, there have been no takers for the aircraft yet!
As a part of these updates, Boeing updates 767-200’s hardware and aerodynamics, through the addition of a brand new flight deck and winglets, both of which are found on the newer 767-300.
Reflecting these upgrades, Boeing designates these Boeing 767-200s as the 767-2C.
Military
However, it hasn’t just been commercial and cargo airlines that have seen the huge potential of the Boeing 767-200. A number of militaries have similarly seen the 767-200 enter service, in one of three roles.
The first, and least common, is as a VIP transport. In this capacity, they are often employed as the presidential transport, flying both the president and their cabinet on long-haul flights.
As of the time of writing, two Boeing 767-200ERs (extended range variants of the standard 767-200) are used as the presidential transports of both Colombia and Brunei.
The second is as an aerial refueler. In this capacity, the fuselage of the aircraft is full of jet fuel (kerosene), which can be used to refuel fighter jets and VIP transports without the need to land.
Currently, there are two 767-200 variants with this capacity: The KC-767 and KC-46, the latter of whom was entered into service in 2019. As of the time of writing, six militaries around the world either or both of these 767-200 variants.
The third, is as an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. Here, it is a cheaper alternative to the 707-derived E-3 Sentry, which costs thousands more dollars per hour to operate!
As of the time of writing, these jets, known as E-767s, are only employed by the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JADSF). Today, the JADSF operate a total of four E-767s, where they’re often deployed over the South China Sea.
Private Jet
Due to the 767-200’s opulence, it has become a rather popular private jet, especially among businessmen and celebrities. Currently, there are between five and ten 767-200s currently serving as private jets for the world’s 1%.
As of the time of writing, there are two main ways to obtain a 767-200 private jet: From Boeing or from an airline.
Starting in the late 1990’s, Boeing began to offer what it calls Boeing Business Jets (BBJ). These are essentially their most famous airliners that have been configured to act as corporate/private jets.
For Boeing, almost all of their currently produced jet airliners are offered, including the 767 family. Whilst 767 offered, the 767-200 has proven to be one of the more popular jets, with several having been ordered in recent years!
However, the 767-200 BBJ isn’t cheap. Buying a brand-new 767-200 straight from Boeing will set you back as much as $185 million, and that’s just for the “basic” model…
As a result, many have turned to the obvious alternative: Buying second-hand. Whilst airlines are retiring the jet, many celebrities are buying them out of service and paying for them to be given a luxury interior by an external company.
Sadly, many of these celebrities and businessmen hide the ownership of their jets, mostly for privacy concerns. However, a few don’t. Canadian rapper, Drake, is one such example.
Drake’s 767-200 was an ex-freighter, used by Canadian cargo airline, Cargojet. This was then given a luxury configuration at a great expense to Drake, before being delivered in mid-2020.
In particular, Drake’s private jet is worth roughly $185 million according to Airways Magazine, making it one of the most expensive private jets in the world!
Museum
Despite the oldest Boeing 767-200s only being almost 40 years old, there are relatively few on display in museums. This for good reason: They’re still in regular service.
Alas, there is only one 767-200 currently on display today. This aircraft, known as “The Spirit of Delta” was the twelfth 767-200 ever built, and the first one to be used by Delta Air Lines.
First acquired in 1982, “The Spirit of Delta” would fly mostly transpacific routes, particularly serving the West Coast of America and Southeast Asia, primarily Japan.
Delta would retire the jet in 2006, storing it just outside of Atlanta.
In 2010, several former Delta employees petitioned the airline to restore the airliner and place it on display at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
Delta acquiesced, restoring the airliner and placing it on display at the Delta Flight Museum. Here, it is painted in the historical “Delta Widget” livery and is only a few minutes away from the museum’s 757-200.
With all that being said, there are a number of Boeing 767-200s that are currently stored in the world’s aircraft graveyards, including the 767-200 prototype, and the famed Gimli Glider.
Consequently, it’s highly likely that the next decade will see a number of other 767-200s go on display, potentially including the Gimli Glider and 767-200 prototype.
Specifications
As both the 757 and 767 were designed in tandem, they share a lot of the same technologies. Due to this, even in spite of both jets being designed for completely different roles, they actually share quite a few of the same specs!
Years later, Boeing would develop the 767-200 into the 767-300, and much later, the 767-400. As a result, the 767-200 shares most of its specs with these jets too…
| Specifications | Boeing 767-200 |
|---|---|
| Length | 159 ft 2 in (48.51 m) |
| Wingspan | 156 ft 1 in (47.57 m) |
| Height | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 174 – 245 |
| Cruise Speed | 0.8 Mach (850 km/h; 528 mi; 459 kn) |
| Range | 7,200 km 4,500 mi; 3,900 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 43,100 ft (13,100 m) |
| MTOW | 315,000 lb (142,900 kg) |
How Successful is The Boeing 767-200?
For Boeing, and the aviation industry as a whole, the 1970’s had been devastating. Over the course of a decade, the world had seen two major oil crises, which almost destroyed the airline industry.
As a result, Boeing had hoped that the 1980’s would be a time to rebuild and hopefully, expand. Enter the Boeing 767-200, which was one of the most successful jets of the 1980’s.
In total, Boeing produced 249 767-200s between 1982 and 1994, with Boeing building 21 jets per year on average.
By comparison, Airbus only produced 151 A300B1-B4s over the course of twenty years. This has ensured that the Boeing 767-200 will go down in history as one of Boeing’s most success jets ever!
And, this was for many reasons. For many airlines, it simply came down to economics.
You see, the A300 was designed in the mid-to-late-1960’s, mostly using early 1960’s jet technology. The 767-200, however, was designed in the late 1970’s, using bleeding edge jet technology.
Naturally, this gave the 767-200 superior performance to the A300, with the 767-200 being faster, having a much larger range and requiring a much smaller runway. All of these factors were quite appealing to airlines!
This also led to the 767-200 being much cheaper to operate that the A300. In addition to this, the 767-200 was also better value for money, carrying more people at a cheaper cost to the airline.
Whilst it was more expensive to acquire, it wasn’t by much. Boeing listed the price of a brand-new 767-200 as $112 million in 1982, whilst at the same time; a brand-new A300B4 cost $105 million!
However, the 767-200 did inadvertently steal sales away from the 747-300, which Boeing released at a similar time. This was because most airlines could acquire two 767-200s for the price of one 747-300!
Indeed, whilst commercial variants of the 767-200 ceased production in the mid-1990’s, the military variants are still in production, which almost fifty unfilled orders (as of the time of writing).
How Safe is The Boeing 767-200?
In recent years, many people have gotten the impression that Boeing aircraft are dangerous. This is mostly thanks to the 737 MAX debacle, which saw two high-profile crashes and the entire fleet grounded for two years.
And whilst some Boeing airliners are dangerous (I’m looking at you 737-200…) the majority are not. In fact, a number of Boeing aircraft are well known for being some of the safest aircraft you could fly on!
So, which does the Boeing 767-200 take after?
Thankfully, the 767-200 is quite safe, being the safest member of the 767 family to date…
In total, the Boeing 767-200 has been involved in a total of eight accidents, resulting in a total of 346 fatalities, which is one of the lowest of any airliner to date! This also translates to roughly one crash per 15 million flight hours.
All of these 411 fatalities come from only four events, none of which were due to the aircraft itself.
The first one was Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961. During the flight, three Ethiopians hoping to gain political asylum in Australia hijacked the airliner, where they promptly flew to Australia and ran out of fuel, crashing in the Indian Ocean.
The second and third were American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. These were hijacked as a part of the September 11 attacks, with the 767-200s being flown into the North and South Towers respectively.
The final crash was due to a combination of pilot error and poor weather. The poor weather led to low visibility, which disoriented the pilot, who then crashed into a hill, mistaking it for the runway…
Legacy
In light of the Boeing 767-200’s relative success, it has left one of the largest legacies of any aircraft ever built on the airline industry as a whole. This is something that is still being continued as of the time of writing!
Boeing
The 1970’s were a difficult time for Boeing. Over the course of a decade, the world saw two major oil crises, which affected almost every industry in the world. However, it hit the airline industry particularly hardly.
For Boeing, the 1980’s were a period of reconstruction. They kicked the new decade off, by releasing new 737 and 747 variants, which had mixed had mixed success.
A little bit later, Boeing introduced the 757 and 767. Both of these jets were fairly successful (although the 757-200 was more successful than the 767-200!) financially stabilizing the company immensely.
Thanks to this, Boeing was able to fund more projects. Whilst many were just variants of old aircraft, Boeing would also fund other non-aviation-related projects, such as its missiles or space programs!
Boeing 767-200
Today, avgeeks and airlines the world over remember the 767-200 for being the 767. However, it’s also more than that: It was the 767 that ensured the 767’s survival.
When Boeing introduced it, many believed that the more established A300 would eclipse it in every regard. However, airlines took the chance on the less established 767-200, got much larger returns on their investment!
Today, most major world airlines have retired their 767-200s in favor of newer, more fuel efficient jets. Most commonly, this is a more recent variant of the 767, usually the 767-400ER.
As a result, many 767-200s have been stored. Many more have been sold on the secondary market too. As of the time of writing, there are several currently for sale, mostly freighters, whose average price is sitting at around $9 million!
Future Aircraft
The success of the Boeing 767-200 also much of its technology influence Boeing’s future aircraft.
Most obviously, the 767-200 would be developed into the 767-300 family, before it, itself, was developed into the 767-400. Whilst the 757 has been out of production for over 15 years, Boeing is still producing the latest 767 variants!
However, the 767-200 would also influence the A300. Like many jets of the era, the original A300 required three crew members. The 767-200, only required two.
Combined with the 767’s lower operating costs, and the 767, whilst smaller, soon became the go-to aircraft over the A300. In order to stay competitive, Airbus redesigned the A300, so that it only needed two crew members.
In a lesser sense, Boeing would also use some of the technology it pioneered on the 757 and 767, on newer variants of its famous 747 family. Mostly, this was to do with the 747-300, released around the same time as the 767-200!
What do you think of the Boeing 767-200? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Kent Wien via Flickr.