THE NEWEST BOEING 767 IS INSPIRED BY THE FUTURE - INTRODUCING THE BOEING 767-400ER

Boeing offers a complete family of 767 airplanes providing maximum market versatility

Boeing's newest member of the 767 family is making its Farnborough Air Show debut this week. The airplane, which is a 21-foot (6.43 m) stretch of one of the world's most popular jetliners, the 767-300ER (extended range), boasts a new-look interior that is based on the award-winning interior design of the Boeing 777.

Sized between the Boeing 767-300ER and the Boeing 777-200 and providing seating for 245 passengers in three classes, the Boeing 767-400ER also features aerodynamic improvements, including innovative new raked wing tips, increased takeoff weight capability, an all-new main landing gear, and a new upgraded flight deck. The first Boeing 767-400ER is scheduled to deliver next month to Delta Air Lines.

At the Farnborough Air Show today, John Quinlivan Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group vice president and general manager for the 767 Program, said that the company announced in May that Boeing is introducing the 777-style interior into its 767-200 and 767-300 models. The first airplanes with the new interior will deliver later this year.

Quinlivan also said that Boeing is pursuing plans to apply the 767-400ER advanced 777-style flight deck to the 767-200 and 767-300 models by 2002. Retrofit kits for the existing fleet would also be offered.

The 777-style flight deck makes the airplane easier to maintain and provides flexibility for operators to tailor the flight-deck equipment to their training needs. A new instrument panel and avionics package consolidate 67 different flight deck parts to 20, simplifying maintenance and improving flight crew efficiency.

On the instrument panel, the most notable change is the use of six large liquid-crystal displays in the same arrangement as the 777 and Next-Generation 737 flight decks. Pilots of all three models receive similar information in a similar format.

"Our plan is to continue to introduce improved features and capabilities into our entire family of 767 airplanes in order to maintain market leadership," Quinlivan said.

Just as the current 767 family of airplanes is being expanded and continually improved with new features and capabilities, Boeing is developing 767X derivative models to provide even greater market versatility.

Based on increasing customer interest, Boeing is developing a longer-range 767-400ER (extended range) airplane. Called the 767-400ERX, this future derivative would be the same size as the 767-400ER but have more range than the 767-300ER. Such capability would provide the ideal replacement for DC-10-30ER airplanes and the capacity needed for markets that have grown beyond the popular, long-range 767-300ER. The 767-400ERX features:

* Seating for 245 passengers in three classes - the same as the 767-400ER.

* Maximum takeoff weight of 465,000 pounds (210,920 kg) - an increase of 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) more than the 767-400ER.

* Range of more than 6,150 nautical miles (11,390 km) an increase of more than 525 nautical miles (950 km) over the 767-400ER.

* Improved takeoff field length - the 767-400ERX would need just 9,650 feet (2,940 m) of runway.

* Higher thrust engines - maximum thrust levels would be 72,000 pounds (32,659 kg).

* Increased fuel volume without compromising cargo capacity. The additional 2,145 gallons (8,120 l) more fuel than the 767-400ER would be carried in the airplane's horizontal tail.

* Strengthened wing, fuselage and landing gear.

Boeing has signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to provide engines for the new 767-400ERX.

The company is also working with the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance (EA). The EA board has authorized offering the GP7172 to Boeing, and an agreement between the two parties will be reached shortly.

Both the Rolls-Royce Trent 600 and Engine Alliance GP7172 engines fulfill the 767-400ERX requirements for thrust ratings up to 72,000 pounds. These same engines are offered on the 747X Family, which is targeted to enter service in 2005.

In addition to these capabilities, the 767-400ERX would join the 767-400ER in offering superior economics. When compared to the Airbus A330-200, the 767-400ERX would carry the same number of passengers, but at 3 percent lower seat-mile costs, 3 percent lower trip costs and less fuel burn. These economic and efficiency benefits provide operators with less risk than the competition.

The 767-400ERX's capabilities would make it the ideal airplane for many of the more mature 767-300ER routes on the North Atlantic and other high-density routes. With the 767-400ERX, airlines would gain 12 to 18 percent more capacity on established 767-300ER routes.

The 767-400ERX also would include the new interior architecture of the 767-400ER, which features the modern, award winning style of the 777-passenger cabin. In an independent survey, approximately 60 percent of passengers preferred flying the 767 versus the A330 on 6-hour-plus flights.

In early March 2000, Kenya Airways committed to the 767-400ERX with an order for three airplanes. Deliveries to the Nairobi-based airline are expected to begin in May 2004.