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Boeing expects Air Force to sign lease for tankers

By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times aerospace reporter

LONDON — Boeing is continuing to negotiate with the Air Force on a lease for 100 767 refueling tankers and expects to have a signed agreement by late September, according to John Sams, program manager.

Boeing will meet with the Air Force again Monday, and "hopefully we'll work it straight through," Sams said.

Sams made his remarks at the Farnborough Air Show immediately after Boeing's Walt Gillette, Sonic Cruiser program manager, discussed the possibility of Boeing Commercial Airplanes phasing out its 250-seat 767 in favor of either the high-speed aircraft or a highly efficient conventional one with much lower operating costs.

Even if those efforts go forward, Sams said, Boeing will continue building 767s in Everett for many years to come if it secures the Air Force contract.

The Air Force wants 20 planes a year at peak production, Sams said. Paired with foreign orders — Italy and Japan are already customers, and Boeing is looking for more — Boeing could easily produce 767s at a profitable rate of two per month, he said.

"The tankers alone provide viability of that line," Sams said.

Boeing also hopes to sell 767 tankers to the British Royal Air Force, which is weighing that aircraft against the Airbus A330.

The United Kingdom is also considering purchasing 19 used 767-300s from British Airways and converting them to tankers. But for most governments, converting used 767s would not be a viable option because the planes' commercial configurations vary widely.

"When you have to (convert) many nonrecurring designs, you really cross over a line where it makes more sense financially" to buy new, Sams said.

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