Boeing 767-400ER (B764)

The Boeing 767-400ER was born of two airlines' requests and a merger that never happened. In the mid-1990s Delta and Continental wanted a larger, more modern 767 to replace their Lockheed L-1011s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s on domestic trunk routes and across the Atlantic, something between the 767-300ER and the 777-200. Boeing answered in 1997 with a stretch of the 767-300ER: 6.4 m of extra fuselage, a strengthened wing with new raked tips, taller landing gear and the flat-panel cockpit displays of the 777.

The first 767-400ER flew on 9 October 1999 and Continental put it into service in September 2000, with Delta following a month later. It was, by the standards of the time, a modern aircraft, with a new interior, larger overhead bins and the cockpit that let 767 pilots step into the 777 family with minimal training. But the market had moved. Airlines wanted either the range of the 777 or the economics of the forthcoming 787, and the -400ER, with only marginally more range than the -300ER, found no customers beyond its two launch airlines and a single VIP order for Bahrain.

Boeing hoped a military version would rescue the line. The E-10A MC2A, a battle-management aircraft for the US Air Force with a large radar array, was based on the -400ER and a test aircraft was built, but the programme was cancelled in 2007 after the airframe had flown. Production ended with 37 aircraft, making it one of the rarest Boeing airliners of the jet age.

Rarity has not meant retirement. United inherited Continental's sixteen in the 2010 merger and refurbished them with Polaris business class, and Delta still flies its twenty-one, mostly on transatlantic and busy domestic routes. Both fleets have been scheduled for replacement by 787s and A330-900s more than once; as of 2026 they remain in daily service, the longest 767s ever built.

The 767-400ER's stretch added two fuselage plugs, 3.4 m ahead of the wing and 3.0 m behind it, and the longer body required a taller main landing gear with larger wheels to keep the tail clear on rotation. The wing is the 767-300ER's strengthened structure with 2.3 m raked tips that extend the span to 51.9 m, the first use of raked wingtips on a Boeing airliner and a device that improved cruise efficiency without the ground-clearance penalty of winglets.

Inside, the -400ER introduced the 777-style interior to the 767 family, with sculpted sidewalls and larger pivot bins, and in the cockpit six liquid-crystal displays replaced the earlier 767's CRT screens, giving crews commonality with the 777. Engines are GE CF6-80C2B8F turbofans at 63,500 lb of thrust; the Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce options of other 767s were never certified. Fuel capacity and range are only slightly better than the -300ER's, which is the main reason the type sold so poorly.

Delta Air Lines operates twenty-one 767-400ERs, configured with Delta One lie-flat seats, Premium Select and economy, on transatlantic routes from Atlanta and New York and on busy domestic trunks. United flies sixteen ex-Continental aircraft, refitted with Polaris business class, mainly between its East Coast hubs and Europe. The two fleets are the only scheduled operators; one further airframe serves as a VIP transport for the government of Bahrain. Both airlines have repeatedly pencilled in retirement dates, so the type is one to see while you can.

A 767-400ER is a pleasant widebody to fly on, and its cabin is the reason: the 767 fuselage was designed for 2-3-2 economy seating, so most seats are a window or an aisle and only one in seven is a middle, a layout that no newer twin-aisle offers. Seats are about 17.5 inches wide at 31–32 inches of pitch on Delta and United. The 777-style interior gives it large bins and a more open feel than older 767s, and both operators have fitted lie-flat business seats and premium economy. The CF6 engines are a touch louder than a 787's and the cabin altitude is the conventional 8,000 ft, so a long overnight is a little more tiring than on a Dreamliner. For the best seat, take a window or aisle in the side pairs ahead of the wing; the rear rows near the aft galleys see the most traffic.

Length and wingtips are the giveaways. The 767-400ER is noticeably longer than a 767-300ER, with four full-size doors per side, and its wingtips are raked back in a sharp sweep rather than ending square or in a winglet; no other 767 has them. The main landing gear is taller, so the aircraft sits higher on the ramp with a longer nose gear too. Against a 787-9 of similar length, the 767's cockpit windows are smaller and more conventional, the engines are larger in proportion and lack chevrons, and the fuselage is slimmer. Only Delta and United liveries will be on it.