6/13/1990: Boeing 767 Breaks Distance Record

DALLAS – Today, in 1990, a Boeing 767-200ER aircraft achieved an unofficial world distance record for twin-engine commercial airliners. The type flew 9,253 miles nonstop from Seattle to Nairobi, Kenya.

The Boeing 767-200ER non-stop flight lasted 17 hours and 22 minutes. The aircraft was on its way to the island of Borneo to be handed over to Royal Brunei Airlines (BI), the country’s flag carrier.

There were 20 passengers and four crew members on board. The aircraft was the first Boeing 767 for BI’s fleet, registered CC-CEX, arriving from Boeing’s factory in Seattle to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) without incident in Brunei.

At the time, the National Aeronautic Association designated the flight as a record pending final verification, according to Boeing. A Boeing 767 had also set the previous record of 8,893 miles.

That year, BI began flying to Europe, first to Frankfurt through Bangkok and Dubai, and then, after the delivery of the record-breaking aircraft, to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) through Singapore and Dubai. The next year, the route to London was adjusted to fly twice a week to Heathrow Airport (LHR), while services to Perth and Jeddah through Dubai were inaugurated.

Seven further Boeing 767s were delivered to BI, bringing the total number of 767s and 757s in the fleet to eight (one of the 757s was sold to fund the purchase of the new 767s).

The Boeing 767-200

The airliner was launched as the 7X7 project on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on July 30, 1982. United Airlines (UA) introduced the initial 767-200 on September 8, 1982, and the extended-range 767-200ER in 1984.

It was stretched into the 767-300 in October 1986, followed by the 767-300ER in 1988, the most popular variant. The 767-300F, a production freighter version, debuted in October 1995. It was expanded again into the 767-400ER in September 2000.

The Boeing 767-200ER variant had 216 seats and was geared for long-haul flights.