When United Airlines announced its order for 200 Boeing 787s in December 2022, the spotlight was on the largest widebody order in US airline history. But within the order announcement came much less noticed news—the airline will retire all its remaining 767s by 2030.
First introduced in 1982, the 767 quickly became a workhorse for United and other airlines. Its computer aided flight deck, the introduction of ETOPS, and its ability as a platform to adapt and change for multiple mission profiles over more than 40 years has made it a mainstay in fleets around the world.
However, as the late 2010s approached, many believed it was an aircraft on the way out. And when the effects of the global pandemic brought much of the industry to a halt, it didn’t come as a shock to see airlines re-evaluating their fleets and usage of the 767 for passenger flights.
For an aircraft already largely labelled as past its prime, what did the pandemic do for the series, what trends can be identified, and what’s next for the venerable 767?
The changing role of a workhorse
The first Boeing 767 was delivered more than 40 years ago and the type is still in regular service with 100 operators around the world. But where the 767 flies and what flies inside the aircraft has changed dramatically.
The 767 now flies predominately as a freighter. In 2022, Flightradar24 tracked 335,543 Boeing 767 freighter flights out of 511,426 total 767 flights. The aircraft can fly as various types of freighters, whether that be manufactured by Boeing, BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter), PCF (Precision Conversion Freighter or BDSF (Bedek Special Freighter). Each type of freighter serves a different purpose for its operator. Budget and availability play a critical role in customers’ decision-making regarding which pathway they’ll head.
Before flying as a freighter, the 767 was actively seen in a passenger-centric role with carriers globally. However, its ability to fly from mainland U.S. to Hawaii and for large periods overwater, thanks to an increased ETOPS, changed twin-engine operations forever. With nearly a thousand passenger aircraft ordered, the 767 enjoyed quite the success and is now enjoying its twilight carrying passengers.
Military and government uses are also vital parts of the program. This includes Boeing’s KC-46, utilized for aerial refuelling and strategic military missions. Boeing continues to build new KC-46 for delivery to the US Air Force and other militaries around the world. In 2022, the KC-46 completed 6,118 flights an 83% increase in flights compared to 2019.
A pandemic accelerates the pace of change
Before the emergence of the global pandemic, the Boeing 767 saw monthly freight and passenger journeys largely hover around the same mark. The pandemic, however, upended this duality. In 2019, cargo 767s completed 243,429 flights. As 2019 ended, freight flights were booming, reaching as high as 24,452 in December, up almost 6,000 on numbers from the first month of the year, January.
In comparison, passenger flights showed signs of seasonality, staying between 22,000-26,000 flights per month. Total passenger flights recorded for the year sat at 279,963, which was only a 36,534 flight difference compared to recorded freight movements. Passenger 767s experienced their busiest months during the summer peak of July and August.
However, as pandemic restrictions hit in early 2020, airlines parked their 767s at a mass rate as demand plummeted to near 0. This mass grounding greatly accelerated long-term airline fleet trends. Unfortunately, it would mean that the 767 would never truly recover to the figure set for monthly pre-pandemic flights, not for a lack of trying though.
The first four months of 2020 highlighted the collapse in demand and subsequent passenger 767 operations. In January, there were 22,115 recorded movements. February saw 19,808, March 15,841 and April 3,729. For the remainder of 2020, passenger flights wouldn’t surpass 10,000 per month. In fact, it wasn’t until May 2021, when 10,105 flights were recorded.
While passenger numbers dropped significantly as the pandemic took hold, cargo operations continued to grow. Looking solely at cargo data, it would be hard to recognize any restrictions on flights at all. In 2020, freighter movements reached a peak of 28,435 in December. Numbers never dropped below 20,000 per month, throughout even the most challenging months.
Thanks in part to the emergence of more converted freighters becoming available as airlines removed their passenger 767s before the pandemic, freight numbers remained high all throughout 2021 and 2022. On top of that, some airlines converted some of their passenger 767s into makeshift freighters to get some use out of the airframe. In 2021, 318,647 freight flights were recorded. While in 2022, 335,543 movements took place, 37.8% above 2019 levels.
Passenger operations with the 767 rebounded after 2020. While flights will not return to levels seen pre-pandemic, its presence can still be felt monthly. In 2022, there were 168,331 recorded 767 passenger flights. Ultimately, this is down 39% from 2019 but highlights the need still for such a plane even after the industry’s greatest challenge.
A demand driven aircraft
Throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022, the 767 saw trends highlighting peaks and valleys, from freight to passenger flights. The ability to see that the Boeing 767 experienced consecutive peaks year-on-year at the same point presents an insightful question. How are airlines deploying the 767?
In 2020 and 2021, data indicates that the 767 for both freight and passenger experienced its busiest months in December before facing a significant drop in flights for January. This is a typically quieter point of the industry for both passenger and freight. On top of that, the 767 would record higher than average monthly movements during the northern hemisphere summer period. Another incredibly busy time for travel as airlines scramble to meet capacity.
While data cannot provide exact answers as to why flight jumps were recorded or what airlines were doing with 767s when numbers were reduced, it can indicate strongly that the 767 for passenger services at least experiences a great deal of necessity during the busiest parts of the year. This could be because customers require additional aircraft for seasonal services, other aircraft types are in for maintenance or as we’ve seen in recent years aircraft types are halted due to airworthiness directives. No matter how big or little the reasoning, it all adds up.
Two ways to downsize
Air Canada was one of the more prominent operators of the Boeing 767 pre-pandemic. However, after an almost four-decade run, the airline decided to remove the aircraft from passenger operations during the height of restrictions. It’s what Air Canada did with their 767s that presents a unique story.
In 2019, Air Canada recorded 20,845 flights with its 767. In 2021 the airline introduced converted 767 freighter aircraft to its fleet.
Air Canada’s converted 767 freighters hold symbolic value to the company as they’re former passenger equipment. Air Canada sends their passenger aircraft away for conversion before re-introducing it into their cargo division. C-FPCA was the first converted freighter to return home to Air Canada after three decades of performing passenger operations. After conversion, this registration recorded 942 total flights in 2022. This part of a total that saw the airline record 1,694 cargo flights.
Air Canada’s approach starkly contrasts American Airlines, who retired their Boeing 767s during the pandemic and didn’t turn them into freighters for themselves. In 2019, American Airlines recorded 14,091 movements with its 767s. By March of 2020, the airline completely withdrew the entire fleet.
Boeing 767s that were retired by American Airlines were instead converted over time and have made their way over to freight operators. As a result, former American Airlines 767s fly in the colours of DHL, and Amazon Prime Air, amongst others.
Which airlines adjusted the most?
2019 to 2022 saw various changes to companies’ fleets as they re-assessed their operations. As a result, some customers made the difficult but necessary decision to remove the 767.
Asiana Airlines operated 14,066 flights with its Boeing 767s in 2019. A split of 13,053 (92%) passengers services and 1,013 (8%) cargo flights. However, by 2022 the airline only operated 3,370 flights. Of these, 1,494 were cargo-operated flights, representing 44% of the total for the year. While there was a significant reduction in passenger flights with the 767, Asiana were a carrier that moved freight and benefited by seeing an increase across the three years.
German carrier Condor recorded 8,312 flights with its Boeing 767s in 2019. However, it only reported 4,964 in 2022. This is a 40% reduction in operations across three years. Condor is a leisure airline and intends to replace its 767s with a more efficient A330neos. Between 2019 and 2022, they removed several units as part of this process.
Continuing in Europe, Austrian Airlines, who were significant users of the 767 have also seen changes in recent years. In 2019 the airline flew 3,007 flights. However, similar to Condor, it reported a 43% decrease in 2022, only seeing 1,693 flights. The Lufthansa Group airline has stated that they’re already in the process of removing this series, with the 787 coming to the Austrian’s fleet in the near future.
WestJet, alongside Air Canada, also saw sizeable changes to their 767 operations. In 2019, the airline flew 2,049 flights, but the airline ceased 767 operations in 2020. WestJet’s 767 now registered C-GAZF, is operated by Cargojet on behalf of Amazon.
eCommerce to the rescue
FedEx is among the largest operator of the Boeing 767 series, and one of the few airlines still taking deliveries of new-build aircraft. Thanks to the rise in ecommerce deliveries during the pandemic and the growth experienced with the 767F, they reported a rise in pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019, there were 57,423 FedEx flights with the 767. This grew by 68% to 96,588 flights in 2022.
Continuing with the growth trend on the freighter side, UPS reported 55,460 in 2019. By 2022, there was a 23% increase with 68,595 flights. UPS are a big admirer of the 767-300F with intentions to continue acquiring the type long into the future to further develop their freighter services.
An emerging company utilizing the 767 freighter capabilities has been Amazon Air, or Prime Air, as painted on their aircraft. In 2019 there were 22,210 flights through Amazon’s contractor partners flying the 767. This increased in 2020 by 21.4% to 26,977 flights. Despite the pandemic, Amazon Air reported substantial numbers across 2020, with flights floating above 2,000 per month. Trends continued upward for 2021, with 34,510 flights and a further increase in 2022 to 39,069 flights.
Thanks to additional Boeing 767s since 2019, Amazon has gone from strength to strength. December has been their best performance, indicating that the company performs more flights than ever during the holiday season. From January to March 2023, Amazon Air’s aircraft have flown 10,055 times. Averaging 3,351 per month in the first three months would see, barring any increase or decrease, just over 40,000 flights for the year which would be a record.
What’s next for the 767?
While it remains hard to predict precisely when, the long-term trend shows an aircraft on the way out as more and more airlines trade the workhorse for fuel-efficient next-generation aircraft.
The commercial set of 767s will spend their twilight in the air carrying freight around the world, but the aircraft has a long life ahead in military use as a tanker. The ability of the 767 to adapt to changing market forces has allowed it to succeed as long as it has. And perhaps it still has another act left.
Tracking the remaining 767s
To keep up to date with all remaining 767s on Flightradar24, create an aircraft filter for “B76” or select the Boeing 767 family from the pre-populated list in the Flightradar24 app.
However, if you’re only interested in viewing specific variants of the 767 family, use the following ICAO aircraft type codes.
- Boeing 767-200 and KC46: B762
- Boeing 767-300: B763
- Boeing 767-400: B764
There is a full tutorial on how to add filters for aircraft available here.
