The 767 is also a popular freighter, and UPS and FedEx are some of the largest fleet operators. The plane was initially used for transcontinental flights, but with new ETOPS rules allowing over-water flying, the 767 now sees service all over the world. The 767 was one of the first planes to benefit from the relaxing of ETOPS regulations in the mid-1980s. The air carriers operating in the post-deregulation environment of the late 1970s were very different than their predecessors, and low costs became the primary concern when ordering new planes. One of the primary goals of the 757 and 767 programs was to reduce operating costs for airlines. Boeing designed the plane together with the narrow-body 757, effectively as replacements for the aging fleet of less efficient 727s and 747s. The 767 is a wildly popular twin-engine wide-body that has been in service and production since 1981. Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) 450,000 lbs.The result was the 777, which first flew in the early 1990s. With the new rule in place, Boeing set out to build a bigger wide-body plane that could carry more freight and passengers on ETOPS routes. Operating these planes soon became preferable to gas guzzlers like the trijet Lockheed Tristar. The FAA gradually allowed more time aloft on one engine, thereby extending the usefulness of twin-engine planes for the airlines. The new rules allowed planes like the 767 and A300/310 to operate over the North Atlantic between the US and Europe. They allow airlines to use twin-jet designs over water and in areas that are more than an hour away from an alternate airport. The resultant regulations became known as ETOPS, or extended twin operations. Over the years, engines became more and more reliable, and it became apparent that a much more efficient airplane could be built that would be just as safe as a tri or quad-jet. Besides redundancy, this was a regulatory requirement put on the airlines for long over-water operations. Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) 775,000 lbs.Įarly jet airliners tended to use three or four engines.
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