The 767 can continue to sell well as an airliner whether or not the company wins the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Jim Albaugh stated yesterday. Standing in front of a new assembly line in Everett, Albaugh said that in a bid to secure aggressive pricing for the tanker competition, Boeing has retooled and made the cost of production much lower. Albaugh spoke at the ceremonial opening of the new 767 assembly bay. Hundreds of retirees joined the entire 767 program team as the 1,000th 767 was formally rolled out and the new facility opened.
"We're going to be more competitive against the A330 as a result," Albaugh said. "As we reduce the costs, it gives us a lot more headroom to negotiate" sales deals.
Boeing has sold just 10 767s in the last two years, half of those heavily discounted sales to All Nippon Airways of Japan to compensate for not delivering the long-delayed 787.
Boeing has just 50 orders for the 767 still to deliver. So without a tanker win, it needs new sales to keep the line open for much more than a couple of years.