Vanguard Airlines Boeing 767-400ER "2013-"

The Boeing 767-400ER came as a surprise to the airline world in 1997, when Boeing aimed a direct replacement for the Douglas DC-10 and L-1011 at US airlines. With a fleet of 33 aging DC-10-10s and DC-10-30s, Vanguard Airlines was quick to select the 767-400ER as the prime replacement for them. The result of a second fuselage stretch for the 767 program, the -400ER offers numerous upgrades over the 767-300 which help it stand out.

Debuting in the age of the 777 gives the 767-400ER innovations such as raked wingtips, new landing gear, an updated interior, and a similar flight deck setup and avionics. By offering flight deck displays very much like those on the 757 and 767s prior, the 767-400ER retains the same type rating with current-generation 767 airplanes and a common type rating with current-generation 757 airplanes. This display format is a reproduction of traditional flight deck displays and instruments on newer flat-panel display screens. A second format, a type of primary flight display/navigation display, is very similar to the format on the next-generation 737 and 777 models, allowing the 767-400ER to give pilots easy integration with both older and newer models of Boeing airplanes.

Vanguard Airlines was among the potential customers to provide feedback and suggestions that would ultimately go into the development of the airplane, making it practically custom tailored. A combination order was placed in 1999 for 26 767-400ER, and 24 777-200ER, which would fully renew the airlines' long haul fleet by 2009, with early model 747s being retired by 2001, and the DC-10 in 2002. The 767-400ER currently serves mostly in Memphis, Houston and Washington D.C. to medium sized European and South American markets.

As of 2021, all 26 767-400ERs are in operation, with many of them emerging from storage in Q2 following a return in the global air travel market.