The US Airforce has decided to get specially designed Airbus A330s to use as refuelling tankers rather than use Boeing 767s, effectively putting the final nail in the coffin of the 767 aircraft programme.
Boeing had been hoping that US Airforce's requirement for 179 refuelling tankers would keep the 767 programme alive.
Currently Boeing has an order backlog of 51 767s and has been producing one aircraft per month which means at that rate the final aircraft will be completed a little over four years from now.
There are no new orders for 767 in sight because airlines instead have been ordering the Boeing 787, which promises to be far superior.
But if Boeing had been able to keep the 767 programme going - with the help of the US Airforce's massive order - it could have been a useful product in Boeing's line-up.
Not every airline can afford to buy a brand new 787 or is willing to wait six years for an aircraft to be delivered.
The 767 could have been an appealing choice for those airlines that wanted to buy a brand new widebody at a cheaper price and with the added benefit of next year delivery.
This, I believe, would have appealed greatly to airlines in developing nations such as Central Asia and Africa.
China is currently in the early stages of development on its own widebody which I suspect will end up filling the void left by the 767. China's new widebody won't be as technologically advanced
as the 787 but as long as it can be as reliable as the 767 and is significantly cheaper than the 787 then it will have a ready market and a market that could have been Boeing's.
Boeing had been hoping that US Airforce's requirement for 179 refuelling tankers would keep the 767 programme alive.
Currently Boeing has an order backlog of 51 767s and has been producing one aircraft per month which means at that rate the final aircraft will be completed a little over four years from now.
There are no new orders for 767 in sight because airlines instead have been ordering the Boeing 787, which promises to be far superior.
But if Boeing had been able to keep the 767 programme going - with the help of the US Airforce's massive order - it could have been a useful product in Boeing's line-up.
Not every airline can afford to buy a brand new 787 or is willing to wait six years for an aircraft to be delivered.
The 767 could have been an appealing choice for those airlines that wanted to buy a brand new widebody at a cheaper price and with the added benefit of next year delivery.
This, I believe, would have appealed greatly to airlines in developing nations such as Central Asia and Africa.
China is currently in the early stages of development on its own widebody which I suspect will end up filling the void left by the 767. China's new widebody won't be as technologically advanced
as the 787 but as long as it can be as reliable as the 767 and is significantly cheaper than the 787 then it will have a ready market and a market that could have been Boeing's.
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