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Memories of the Boeing 767-300ER, retired 31 Mar 2020

Memories of the Boeing 767-300ER, retired 31 Mar 2020

Old Apr 11, 2020, 2:11 pm
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Memories of the Boeing 767-300ER, retired 31 Mar 2020

American Airlines’ last Boeing 767-323ER of the 17 remaining this year of 70 originally in service retired to ROW / Roswell, NM on 31 March 2020. The 767-300ER began service with AA in 1988. In their final configuration, AA 767-323ERs seating was 28J, 21MCE, 160Y for a total of 209 passenger seats.

HISTORY: The “7X7 project” launched “on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on July 30, 1982. The original 767-200 entered service on September 8 with United Airlines, the extended-range 767-200ER in 1984 (AA operated 13 767-200, 17 767-200ER previously, and US Airways operated them as well). The 767 was stretched into the 767-300 in October 1986, followed by the 767-300ER in 1988, the most popular variant.” The 767-300ER typically seats 218 over 5,980 nmi (11,070 km). Boeing filled 1,254 Boeing 767 orders from 74 customers (excluding cargo and military orders; military 767 tankers are still being built).

“The 767 is Boeing's first wide-body twinjet, powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofans. The aircraft has a conventional tail and a supercritical wing for reduced aerodynamic drag. Its two-crew glass cockpit, a first for a Boeing airliner, was developed jointly for the Boeing 757, allowing a common pilot type rating.”

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). Design improvements allowed the available MTOW to increase to 412,000 lb (187,000 kg) by 1993. Power was provided by Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. Winglets were added to the 763 to extend range and to improve fuel economy.

Some passengers loved them, others avoided them. They inaugurated the anticlimactic “Next Generation Business Class” angled flat Business seats, and those were replaced by Thompson Vantage fully flat seat - some would say another stopgap until the 767 was replaced by the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. That replacement was accelerated by the novel Coronavirus’ diminution of commercial air traffic. In their final years of service, the 763 also developed poor reliability and dispatch problem.


Link to Wikipedia Boeing 767 article

THREADS:

767-300 / 763 [opinions and general discussion]

AA 767-300 / 763 Full Flat Thompson Vantage Business Seat, Best, etc.

ARCHIVE: Boeing 767-300 / 763 "CIP" with Lie Flat Business (2014 CIP)

Boeing 767-300ER / 763 Next Generation Business Class / NGBC seating (OBSOLETE)

Boeing 767-300 / 763 Best MCE / Main Cabin Extra / Economy Seats (consolidated)

American Airlines 767-300 "NGBC" version best seats business and economy

LAA 763 / 767-300 Economy / coach Row 17 crew rest "superseat" (consolidated)

AA Boeing 763 / 767-300ER Technology (IFE, power, WiFi, etc.)

A Whole 767 To Themselves (after 25 hr flight delay)

AA 767 engine fire at ORD; evacuation with injuries (AA383 ORD-MIA Oct 28 2016)





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Old Apr 11, 2020, 2:21 pm
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The 767 hasn't been removed from the schedule yet....still seeing it on LAX-MIA in July and beyond.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 2:28 pm
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Originally Posted by PDXPremier
The 767 hasn't been removed from the schedule yet....still seeing it on LAX-MIA in July and beyond.
But it won't be flying. Schedules are still in flux. I remember back in 2009 a DEQM promotion LGA/ORD/FRA for something like $275 with the FRA portion on a 763. The entire then FRA AC was full of FTs doing MRs.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 2:32 pm
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I always thought of them as boring but reliable. Kinda like the MD-80s.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 2:51 pm
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Best experience on a 767-300 was when when was subbed for likely a MD-80 on a LAS-ORD flight probably 10 years ago. I was shocked when I woke up the morning of the flight and saw my upgrade had cleared as a lowly gold, when I went to check the seat map it was obvious the substitution had opened up a bunch of seats up front.

As an almost 100% domestic flyer, it was my first exposure to an international first class seat. I remember the flight being delayed slightly since the ground crew as LAS was not all that familiar with the 767, and took a little to figure out how to load the baggage containers.

Other memory is from the movie home alone 2 where Kevin is apparently flying a 767-300 from ORD-LGA, while the rest of the family is flying a 767-300 ORD-MIA.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 3:31 pm
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I will miss these on JFK -> MIA. Hope they keep a 777 on that.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 4:00 pm
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My favorite AA 763 flights were on DFW-SFO and SFO-DFW, around 6 years ago. Those flights were on 757s when I booked, but AA changed the aircraft to 767. With the 767 having more F seats, my upgrades cleared on both flights (though the return flight cleared at boarding). The seats were the now retired NGBC angled flat seats which were a nice step up from standard domestic F seats.The SFO-DFW flight was delayed 30 minutes - after pushback the generator failed causing all power to go out. We were towed back to the gate where mechanics repaired the generator.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 4:13 pm
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I spent my 30ty birthday flying to Maui on a 767-300. Good memories.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 4:31 pm
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Took the 763 on AA a few times -

RDU-LHR/FCO-JFK - First time in NGBC as a 22 year old - thought it was great! (2008-2009 NYE trip)
JFK-MXP - Got op-uped to NGBC (as PLT!) with my now husband, remember the guy next to me was flying to fashion week and slept the whole time. Thought someday I would do the same on a long haul instead of drinking and enjoying - was 23 - still haven't given up the enjoyment and just deal with the lack of sleep. (2010)
FCO-ORD - Coach. No fun, several hours of the Rachel Zoe project made me want to die. (2010)
DFW-HNL-DFW - NGBC to and from Hawaii - what's not to like? (2013)
JFK-CDG-JFK - Coach, fianc got food poisoning in Paris and was sick the whole way back - FAs were very helpful. No fun. (2015)
MAD-JFK - Lie flat J. Seat was fine for me and the husband, glad to have the tablet for sure. Good flight! (2019)

That's it I think - too bad they are gone, but would never want to fly them in Y for a west bound TATL again.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 5:21 pm
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Were they the ones that were originally labeled as "Luxury Liner" on the front side, just in front of 1L/2L? I remember that my very first 767 experience was on AA, I believe DFW-HNL, and the plane was so christened! Of course, I was sitting all the way back, so not exactly luxury for me.
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 6:08 pm
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Originally Posted by AndyPatterson
Were they the ones that were originally labeled as "Luxury Liner" on the front side, just in front of 1L/2L? I remember that my very first 767 experience was on AA, I believe DFW-HNL, and the plane was so christened! Of course, I was sitting all the way back, so not exactly luxury for me.
A lot of different types in the AA fleet were labeled "LuxuryLiner" in the past. Maybe all of them? The checkered reputation of the DC-10, and especially AA191, caused AA to change the labeling on the nose of its D10s from "DC-10 LuxuryLiner" to "American Airlines LuxuryLiner."

Last edited by Herb687; Apr 11, 2020 at 6:10 pm Reason: spelling
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Old Apr 11, 2020, 10:27 pm
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Originally Posted by AndyPatterson
Were they the ones that were originally labeled as "Luxury Liner" on the front side, just in front of 1L/2L? I remember that my very first 767 experience was on AA, I believe DFW-HNL, and the plane was so christened! Of course, I was sitting all the way back, so not exactly luxury for me.
The Luxury Liner tag was applied to the 767-223ER, but Im not remembering that in the 763. That doesnt mean it didnt happen. Other Luxury Liners included the Airbus A300, Boeing 747, Douglas and McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (unsure about the -30) and MD-11.
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Old Apr 12, 2020, 7:55 am
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We flew the 767-300 for many years on the DFW-Hawaii-DFW non-stops. First with the sleeper recliners, then the NGBC angled lie flat, and finally the new lie flat. For work, it was sometimes scheduled LAX-DFW-LAX. I always tried to pick that flight. Wonderful memories. End of an era.
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Old Apr 12, 2020, 8:24 am
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the 767 is my favorite a/c to fly when flying international Y. But dang, took ORD-LHR once when UA cancelled and the business class seat on AA was like a roller coaster seat with required handheld iPad for entertainment. this was back in 2013 and my first time flying AA business international.......needless to say, took a while again before I flew them.
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Old Apr 12, 2020, 8:59 am
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Originally Posted by wrp96
I spent my 30ty birthday flying to Maui on a 767-300. Good memories.
My family and my one and only trip to Hawaii was in a 767 back in 2014. Of course, the POS junk had a mechanical that led to a 12 hour delay and ruined the start of our trip.
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