Boeing May Shut Down Its 767 Line

Boeing Co. probably will halt production of its 767 jetliner while the Air Force decides whether to acquire the plane as an aerial refueling tanker, the company’s interim chief executive said Wednesday.

“I’m not overly hopeful on that even if we had a tanker program today,” said James Bell in New York.

Congress in October scrapped an agreement to lease and buy 100 767s because the illegal hiring of a former Air Force procurement official by the Chicago-based company may have influenced the awarding of contracts.

“If we’re looking at a 2008 tanker start, the 767 could be gone,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant for Teal Group in Fairfax, Va. “This could mean a huge breakthrough for Airbus.”

The Air Force had set aside $552 million between fiscal 2007 and 2011 for research and $8.58 billion to start buying the tankers, which are used in the midair refueling of bombers, fighters and other aircraft. Boeing may face competition from Europe’s Airbus for the tanker contract if it is reconsidered.

A decision on whether to “break” the production line probably will be made by mid-year, Bell said.

New orders for the 767 from a commercial customer or the government for tankers would extend that, he said.

Bell became Boeing’s interim CEO on Monday after Harry C. Stonecipher was ousted because of a relationship with a female executive that violated the company’s code of conduct.

The 767 is made in Everett, Wash.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing fell 40 cents Wednesday to $57.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.