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● SF PRESS ·Brandon Shaw ·June 3, 2026 ·10:08Z

How Many Miles Per Gallon Does A Boeing 767 Get?

The Boeing 767 achieves approximately 68 available seat-miles per gallon when configured with 218 seats, translating to roughly 68 miles per gallon per person on a full flight. While the 767 burns more fuel overall than narrowbody aircraft like the 737-800, it is more efficient on a per-passenger basis because it spreads that higher fuel consumption across more seats and longer routes. Real-world efficiency varies significantly based on aircraft configuration and load factor, with 2010 data showing 767-300ER models ranging from 59.91 to 64.51 available seat-miles per gallon across different operators.
Detailed analysis

The Boeing 767's fuel consumption, when translated into per-passenger miles-per-gallon equivalents, reveals an efficiency picture that defies the aircraft's reputation as a heavy, fuel-thirsty widebody. At typical cruise burn rates of approximately 1,600 gallons per hour, the 767-300ER configured with 218 seats delivers roughly 68 available seat miles per gallon — a metric derived from Bureau of Transportation Statistics data and calculated by distributing total fuel burn across total seat capacity over a given distance. That figure equates to approximately 68 miles per gallon per occupied seat at full load, which meaningfully outperforms the average automobile. The 767-200ER trails the -300ER variant, logging between 48.67 and 60.58 available seat miles per gallon across U.S. legacy carriers in the most detailed BTS dataset publicly available, while the -300ER ranged from 59.91 to 64.51 depending on operator. The performance gap between variants reflects the straightforward physics of spreading a similar hourly fuel burn across the -300ER's longer fuselage and higher seat count.

Carrier-specific configuration choices account for significant variation in the data, a point directly relevant to fleet planners and operators making cabin density decisions. US Airways extracted 60.58 available seat miles per gallon from its 767-200ERs compared to American Airlines' 48.67 on the same type — a 12-point gap driven largely by seat count differences in the respective configurations. Route structure compounds the effect. Any flight segment dominated by takeoff and climb, the most fuel-intensive phases of a mission, will post lower seat-miles-per-gallon figures than a long transoceanic stage where cruise efficiency dominates the fuel profile. For Part 135 or charter operators configuring 767s in premium-heavy or low-density layouts, these dynamics mean the efficiency numbers cited for mainline carriers may not reflect their own operational reality. Load factor further adjusts real-world productivity — a 767-300ER flying at 70 percent load occupies a meaningfully different position on the per-passenger efficiency curve than one operating at 90 percent.

Placed against the contemporary narrowbody fleet, the 767 operates at a structural disadvantage in the available seat miles per gallon metric, and the BTS data confirms it. The 737-800 ranged from 74.28 to 78.65, the A320 from 70.49 to 74.38, and the 757-200 from 67.28 to 74.79 depending on carrier. Delta's high-density 757-300 topped the dataset at 83.53. The 767-300ER's ceiling of 64.51 falls below every narrowbody type in the comparison, which is expected and not inherently damning — the aircraft is performing a fundamentally different mission, carrying higher passenger loads and more freight over longer stages with greater range capability than any single-aisle type in the dataset. The comparison is most useful not as a verdict on the 767's efficiency but as a calibration tool: operators can see precisely what premium they pay in fuel productivity to gain widebody capacity, transoceanic range, and belly cargo volume.

For working airline pilots and aviation operators, the broader significance of this analysis sits at the intersection of fleet economics and route planning. The 767 has remained in continuous production and service for over four decades in part because its efficiency-per-passenger on medium and long-haul stages remains commercially defensible even as newer-generation widebodies have entered the market. The 787 Dreamliner, which Boeing positioned as the 767's successor on many routes, improves on the older type's fuel burn substantially through composite construction and more efficient high-bypass turbofans — but the 767 continues to operate profitably on enough route pairs that numerous carriers have extended fleet life or acquired used frames rather than accelerating transition. Cargo conversion programs, particularly the 767-300BDSF and Boeing Converted Freighter variants, have given the airframe a second commercial life as e-commerce-driven express freight demand has grown, a trend that makes the 767's operating economics relevant well beyond its passenger service role.

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