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The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill winding its way through Congress includes a provision that would grant Boeing an exemption from international aircraft emissions regulations that were set to end production of new 767 freighters starting in 2028.
The provision, which has not been previously reported outside of lengthy congressional summaries of the bill, gives Boeing five additional years to build the air cargo workhorse for U.S. cargo carriers like FedEx Express and UPS Airlines — but those aircraft will be restricted to domestic operations as they won’t comply with International Civil Aviation Organization agreements. Any 767 delivered before the end of 2027 would not be subject to the restrictions.
Related: Boeing maneuvers 787 to follow the 767 freighter — with help from 777X
The reprieve to 2033 also now matches Boeing’s own internal thinking for the arrival of a 787 Dreamliner factory freighter, which remains a quiet, but active, part of the company’s new product development activities overshadowed by its acute production and strategic troubles, two people familiar with the company’s internal planning tell The Air Current.
TAC explores the pursuit of a genuine replacement for the mid-size 767 freighter, a saga marked by inertia and indecisiveness on the part of Boeing and Airbus, with each looking to the other to move first on a next-generation platform that always seems to shift ever further into the future.
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