Boeing

A Boeing 767-400ER (extended range) airplane - the newest member in the 767 family of airplanes - leaves today from Boeing Field with more than 40 passengers on an around-the-world tour that will take the airplane to 17 cities and three continents.

The month-long tour includes a week's stay at the Farnborough Air Show in England where the airplane will be on static display. At other stops the tour also will include flight demonstrations for airline executives and staff, news media, government officials and other aviation representatives.

This one-of-a-kind Boeing 767 has a special World Tour design inside and out. Both the airplane's distinctive livery and its interior feature graphics and fabrics that reflect the human fascination with flight. Illustrations from the Greek myths of Pegasus and Mercury are beautifully woven into the carpets. The cabin decor features Leonardo da Vinci's drawings.

The airplane will be on display in Vienna, Hannover and Frankfurt in Germany, Warsaw, Prague, Larnaca, Cyprus, and Luton and Gatwick in England. The airplane will make four stops in China (in Urumqi, Haikou, Shanghai and Beijing) before traveling on to Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore and Seoul. The airplane returns to Seattle on Aug. 12.

"Taking the Boeing 767-400ER directly to our customers gives them the opportunity to experience the comfort of the new-look interior, to see for themselves how well it performs and discover how the 767-400ER can fit into their operations," said John Quinlivan, Boeing 767 Program vice president and general manager. "What our customers will see is that the Boeing 767-400ER offers passengers a superior level of comfort on non-stop travel to new destinations. We're proud of this airplane and the people who designed and built it, and we want to show it off."

The 767-400ER, sized between the Boeing 767-300ER and the Boeing 777-200, features a lengthened fuselage, aerodynamic improvements such as the innovative new raked wing tips, increased takeoff weight capability, a passenger-pleasing 777-style interior, a new upgraded flight deck and an all-new main landing gear. The first Boeing 767-400ER is scheduled to deliver next month to Delta Air Lines.

Certification of the 767-400ER by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Europe's Joint Aviation -Authorities (JAA) is expected to take place later this month.

The 767-400ER fuselage adds 21 feet (6.4 meters) to the baseline 767-300 airframe, and provides approximately 15 percent more seats - accommodating 245 passengers in a three-class configuration and 304 passengers in a two-class configuration. The entire Boeing 767 family, which also includes the 767-200ER and 767-300ER, has lower operating costs per trip than any other competing airplane. And this newest member adds an important strategic advantage by also offering the lowest operating cost per seat.

The Boeing 767-400ER is designed to be the most efficient airplane in its size category, making it an ideal replacement for aging L-1011, DC-10-30 and A300 airplanes. In growing markets, it can fly more passengers on routes served by existing 767s, A300-600s and A310s. Efficient design gives the higher-capacity 767-400ER excellent range capability (approximately 5,650 nautical miles or 10,460 km) to fly about 99 percent of the routes currently being served by airplanes in this size category.

"The 767's unique combination of capacity, performance and economics make it the ideal choice in pioneering new markets," Quinlivan said. "In fact the 767 is largely responsible for the dramatic fragmentation of the North Atlantic market, helping airlines create new markets and giving passengers more opportunities to fly directly to their destinations."

Now with three sizes available, the 767 family offers operators even more opportunities to efficiently and profitably open new markets and expand existing markets at minimum risk and maximum profit.