Boeing on Tuesday announced that it has begun assembling the 1,000th 767 airplane at its factory in Everett, Washington, marking an important milestone for the company.
“This is an important milestone for the 767, which has continued to evolve and improve since entering service nearly 30 years ago,” Kim Pastega, vice president and general manager of the 767 program at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said. “The 767 is a high-performing twin-aisle airplane that delivers nearly 99 percent dispatch reliability every day for more than 90 operators around the world.”
The airplane, a 767-300ER (extended range) passenger model, is scheduled for delivery in February 2011 to long-time customer All Nippon Airways (ANA), who ordered their first 767 in 1979 and has taken delivery of 89 767s so far.
Boeing will use the 767 as its platform for the NewGen tanker, assuming it wins the U.S. Air Force KC-X Tanker competition. The contract award is expected to be announced in mid-November. The Boeing 767 is a family of aircraft that seats 200 to 300 passengers within its three passenger models.
Through the 1990s, the Boeing 767 became commonly used on medium long-haul routes and is ranked as the most commonly used airliner for transatlantic flights between the U.S. and Europe. Over 900 767s have been delivered and over 1,000 have been ordered.