US-Europe flights adjust fleet away from aging Boeing 767s

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US-Europe flights adjust fleet away from aging Boeing 767s

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Austrian Airlines Boeing 767 | Official Website

By Sky Industry News

Jun 11, 2025

Airlines are making adjustments to their aircraft operations on certain routes between the United States and Europe. This month, five routes will no longer utilize the Boeing 767. The aircraft is particularly important for airlines such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which dominate this market segment.

"Only four airlines operate the Boeing 767 on routes between the United States and Europe," according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. These airlines include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Icelandair, and Austrian Airlines. A total of 63 routes will see the Boeing 767 in operation this June.

The decision to switch from using Boeing 767s comes as airlines enter the peak summer season when demand is highest. For some of these routes, other aircraft types will be used temporarily until October when Boeing 767 service is expected to resume.

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One example is United Airlines' route from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Barcelona El Prat (BCN), which will temporarily use a Boeing 787-8 instead of a Boeing 767-300. Similarly, flights from Newark (EWR) to Munich (MUC) will transition from a Boeing 767-400 to a Boeing 777 during this period.

Delta Air Lines will also replace its Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) to Dublin (DUB) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) services with an Airbus A330-300 instead of a Boeing 767-400. In Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) to Keflavík (KEF), Icelandair's route typically served by a Boeing 767-300 will now be operated by an Airbus A321LR thrice daily.

Switching to higher-capacity jets addresses both business and leisure travel demands in June. Despite these changes, Cirium data indicates that "the most common aircraft type operating between the two regions in terms of flights is actually the Airbus A330-300." However, combining all variants of the aircraft family shows that "Boeing is the dominant force in the sector."

Delta Air Lines operates with a fleet consisting mostly of Airbus A330s while United Airlines shifts towards using more Boeing 787s as they phase out older models like the Boeing 767s.