The Boeing 767 became a success story and paved the way for the forthcoming twin-engine aircraft, the 777, 787 and the Airbus A330 and A350.
The Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) are rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions. It is also a certification that allows twin-engine aircraft to operate routes a certain distance away from the nearest airport available for an emergency landing.
The early days
The 767-200 was produced until 1987 when production switched to the extended-range 767-200ER. The 767-200ER was the first extended-range model and entered service with El Al in 1984. The type’s increased range is due to extra fuel capacity and higher maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of up to 395,000 lb (179,000 kg). The additional fuel capacity is accomplished by using the center tank’s dry dock to carry fuel.
In the early 1980s, three or four-engine aircraft primarily operated over-water long-range flights. At the time, the Airbus A300 was equipped with ETOPS-90 certification. Meanwhile, the Boeing 767 program facilitated the development of the ETOPS extension beyond the existing 60-minute limit.
The Boeing 767, with its modern technology and intelligent systems, surpassed the safety and redundancy standards of prior aircraft.
ETOPS certification
The extended-range version of the Boeing 767, the 767-200ER, entered into commercial service in 1984. Boeing flew a 7,500-mile (12,000 km) delivery flight of the 767-200ER from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Addis Ababa (ADD) in Ethiopia.
The 767-200ER was the first 767 to complete a non-stop transatlantic journey, and broke the flying distance record for a twinjet airliner on April 17, 1988, with an Air Mauritius flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Port Louis, Mauritius, covering 8,727 nmi (16,200 km; 10,000 mi).
Boeing had acquired a one-time concession from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate the direct flight. Later that year, the FAA equipped the 767-200ER with a 75-minute ETOPS regulation, just in time for Air Canada to take delivery of the jet.
Since then, Boeing lobbied the FAA to extend the jet’s limit to 120 minutes to open new transatlantic routes.
The FAA requirements
The FAA required Boeing to provide a comprehensive trend monitoring system to gather in-flight data. The purpose of this requirement was to record the inflight reliability of critical systems.
Moreover, the FAA also imposed a condition on Pratt & Whitney for the JT9D engines for inflight logging. The FAA required P&W to record a minimum of 250,000 consecutive flight hours for JT9D engines with a meager shutdown rate.
In January 1985, the FAA increased the ETPOS limit to 120 minutes. On February 1st, Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 810 operated the first 120-minute ETOPS-certified transatlantic flight using a Boeing 767-200 between Boston and Paris.
Following the successful ETOPS flight, TWA Airlines invested $2.6 million per aircraft to upgrade its 767 fleets for ETOPS-120. Not only did other airlines flying the 767s follow suit, but many new airlines also placed orders for the jet capable of flying much longer routes.
Meanwhile, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney continued to record flight data of the aircraft and engines, respectively. Boeing’s target was to certify the 767 to fly from California to Hawaii.
The successful shutdown and failure data over the following years allowed the FAA to increase the ETOPS limit on the Boeing 767 to 180 minutes in 1989. This decision connected the islands of Hawaii to the US mainland through a twin-engine flight.
American Airlines flew the first ETOPS-180 flight using a 767 on the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Honolulu (HNL) route. By keeping safe operations along with stringent engine shutdown rates over long flights, all variants of the 767 received the ETOPS-180 certification by 1993. Since then, Boeing has logged over 750 orders for the 767 family.
The Boeing 767 program uplift
In just a few years following the ETOPS-180 certification, many legacy carriers had acquired some variant of the Boeing 767. With the popularity of the jet, more than 50% of transatlantic flights were operated using the 767, as opposed to the traditional three or four-engine aircraft.
The 767-300ER, the extended-range version of the 767-300, entered service with American Airlines in 1988. The type’s increased range was made possible by greater fuel tankage and a higher MTOW of 407,000 lb (185,000 kg). The combination of increased capacity and range for the -300ER has been particularly attractive to both new and existing 767 operators. It is the most successful 767 version, with more orders placed than all other variants combined.
The new 767s rolling out of the Boeing factory came equipped with ETOPS-180. Not only did the 767 program become a success story, but it also paved the way for the forthcoming Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 families of aircraft. AirGuide Business & simpleflying.com
