If you have never flown on a Boeing 767, you may not know much about the successful cargo career that it has enjoyed despite its diminishing relevance as a passenger jet. The plane is largely being replaced by the newer 787 Dreamliner and passenger service, but has found a thriving niche as a ‘middleweight’ cargo freighter.

The 767 freighter is primarily based on the 767-300ER airframe. Unlike many cargo planes that started as passenger jets and were later converted, Boeing still produces the 767-300F as a purpose-built freighter. It bridges the gap between smaller narrowbody freighters and larger, less flexible long-haul jets, carrying over 50 tons.

An Enduringly Popular Freighter

While newer jets offer better fuel efficiency for airlines, the 767’s rugged, no-nonsense design makes it an arguably better freighter. Today, many serve as a dependable, highly profitable workhorse in the cargo market, as Flightradar24 details. It can fly roughly 3,255 nautical miles with its maximum payload, making it ideal for transcontinental ‘hub-to-hub’ operations, and is typically powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engines.

These are mature, highly reliable powerplants with a massive global support network. Purpose-built freighters lack passenger windows, which reduces weight and simplifies maintenance. The 767 provides a massive amount of cubic volume without the high fuel costs of a four-engine 747, and it remains in production due to its ideal size, reliability, and low operating costs.

The highly durable airframe and heavy-duty cargo deck have proven to be reliable and efficient for cargo handling with carriers that move both high-density and heavy freight. Its capacity is perfect for the high-frequency, overnight, and regional routes operated by carriers like UPS, Amazon Air, and FedEx.

The Second-Hand 767 Market

A strong secondary market exists for converting older 767 passenger jets into freighters, extending their operational life. It offers lower purchase and maintenance costs compared to new-generation, composite-based aircraft, which are harder to convert. Outdated fuel efficiency compared to the 787 makes it less desirable for long-haul passenger flying, though some, like Delta and United, still operate them.

While Boeing is winding down the 767 program due to new emissions standards, the market is currently flooded with retired 767 passenger jets. The 767-300F’s popularity has surged in the 2020s, driven by a few specific shifts in the global economy. It is small enough to land at secondary airports that cannot accommodate a 747, yet large enough to carry a significant amount of revenue-generating freight.

The end of the line for the passenger role of the 767 is nearing, with United and Delta, the largest remaining passenger operators, setting firm retirement dates. A converted 767-300ER costs significantly less than a new-build freighter and is perfectly suited for e-commerce, which prioritizes volume over weight, as Safefly Aero reports. Conversion slots remain highly sought after, with facilities in locations around the world expanding to meet the demand from carriers like Amazon Air and FedEx.

Passenger Service Sunset

Early in its career, the Boeing 767 was praised widely for comfort and efficiency. It was the first widebody aircraft to feature a two-pilot digital glass cockpit, which drastically reduced operating costs for airlines by eliminating the need for a flight engineer. As decades have gone on, increasingly efficient turbofan engines and superior composite construction like that found in the 787 Dreamliner have allowed newer generations to surpass the pioneering legacy of the 767.

The most significant moment in its passenger life came with the advent of ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certification. In 1985, this rule change allowed twin-engine jets to fly extended routes over oceans, something previously limited to three or four-engine aircraft. The 767 became the workhorse of transatlantic travel, flying nearly 75% of all Atlantic crossings by the mid-1990s.

The wide cabin was popular with passengers with its 2-3-2 economy seating layout, meaning most seats were either a window or an aisle seat, and there was only one middle seat in each row. The 767 remained a staple of long-haul travel for decades, but by the 2010s, newer technology began to chip away at its dominance. Fuel is an airline’s largest expense. The 767’s engines, while reliable, cannot compete with the better fuel efficiency per seat offered by modern jets.

Its primary successor is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a clean-sheet design using composite materials that offers better fuel efficiency, longer range, and improved passenger comfort features. As of early 2026, Delta is in the final stages of phasing out its remaining 767-300ERs, with plans to remove them from international service by 2030. United is also currently winding down its fleet of Boeing 767-300ERs, targeting a complete phase-out by December 2027.

The 767 By The Numbers

The tandem development of the Boeing 757 and 767 in the late 1970s and early 1980s was a landmark strategy that created a unified fleet system. Developing both jets simultaneously allowed Boeing to standardize the vast majority of the Line Replaceable Units and flight management system components. For modern cargo transporters, this development approach made the 767 a superior asset by providing unprecedented operational flexibility and cost savings.

The 757 also shares a common type rating with all variants of the 767, thanks to nearly identical glass cockpits, saving companies millions in labor costs. As such, cargo giants like FedEx and UPS can shift pilots between narrowbody 757 and widebody 767 missions daily. This prevents delays caused by crew shortages on one specific aircraft type and drastically reduces training budgets. Mechanics trained on the 757 are already deeply familiar with the 767’s systems, leading to faster repairs.

A 134-inch wide door on the forward main deck allows for the loading of oversized items. The main deck floor is specifically engineered to handle the high-density weight of industrial pallets. The 767-300F can accommodate 24 standard 88-by-125-inch pallets on the main deck, and it provides an additional 11,417 cubic feet of space for bulk cargo or smaller containers. It has a maximum structural payload of 52 tons.

By developing these planes together, Boeing could justify the investment required to pioneer the two-crew digital glass cockpit. Prior widebodies required three crew members, but the program brought the two-pilot standard to the widebody world, slashing labor costs for cargo operators. This shared technology ensured that as 767s age and move into the cargo sector today, they still feature modern digital systems that are easy to maintain compared to older analog freighters like the MD-11.

The Effect Of Evolving Standards

Boeing is currently fulfilling its final civilian orders for the 767-300F, with production of the commercial freighter variant expected to end in 2027. A critical technical factor in the 767 production phase-out is the looming International Civil Aviation Organization emissions standard deadline, as newly built 767 freighters will no longer be compliant with international CO2 and noise standards starting January 1, 2028.

While the FAA granted a local exemption for US operations until 2033, the global 2028 cutoff effectively ends the 767’s life as a newly manufactured commercial product. Still, though the passenger version is fading, the 767 platform will remain in the sky for decades. The global freighter fleet is expected to serve well into the 2060s, and the military-spec KC-46 Pegasus of the US Air Force could keep flying even longer.

While emissions are the main focus, noise pollution regulations also play a role in the phase-out. Modern airports, particularly in Europe and major Asian hubs, have adopted stricter noise standards. While the 767 is relatively quiet compared to older trijets, it faces increasing curfews and higher landing fees at strictly regulated airports compared to next-generation jets like the 787.

The KC-46 Pegasus is exempt from these commercial environmental standards, meaning the 767 production line in Everett will likely remain open for military orders long after the freighter variant is discontinued. The original KC-X program of record was for 179 aircraft, but this has been expanded to nearly 200 units. Over 100 KC-46As have been delivered to the USAF.

The KC-46 is a multi-mission platform, significantly more versatile than the legacy tankers it replaces. Although the aircraft was somewhat troubled in its initial introduction, it has gone on to be a very successful platform thanks to its flexibility and capacity. Outside of the USAF, Japan and Israel have also ordered planes, keeping the production lines of the 767 open for even longer.