B757 - In Services

Charter airplane used by the Dallas Mavericks, a Boeing 757 aircraft

The Ultimate B757 Now Available for 121 Charter

In-service
The majority of 757s are found in domestic service with U.S. carriers, most notably American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. American operates the largest fleet of 757s and Delta comes in at a close second only by about 20 planes. Some airlines, such as Icelandair, Continental Airlines, American Airlines and ATA Airlines use the aircraft for transoceanic flights. For many airlines, like Royal Brunei and Royal Nepal Airlines, the 757 provided them an economical intercontinental airliner allowing such airlines for the first time service to European cities. For many third world airlines, the 757 is also a perfect substitute to the ageing Boeing 707s in their fleet.

The 757 is a popular aircraft for holiday/charter Airlines in the UK such as Thomas Cook, First Choice Airlines (Air 2000), Monarch Airlines and Thomson Fly (Brittania Airways). The 757 can reach South Africa as well as places nearer to Britain such as Amsterdam and Paris.

After initially successful sales, the sales of the 757 went down dramatically from the middle of the 1990's onwards. The 757 was first bought mainly by airlines wishing to tap long and thin (as well as young) routes. However, as the routes matured, the 757 was replaced by widebody airliners with better economics. On the short haul market, airlines consider the 757 too big as it is profitable only when it is at least three-quarters full. The short haul markets are better served by the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families of airliners. Should the passenger load reach three-quarters, the A321 and the 737-900 are more economical. Although neither have the range of the 757, they fulfill the requirements of 90% of the routes served by the 757. The 757 became the victim of changing market condition rather than technical obsolescence.

The 1,050th and last 757 air taxi destined for Shanghai Airlines rolled off the production line at Renton on October 28, 2004. The 757-200 is being replaced in the short term by the 737-900ER, Air Charter Directory and in the long term by the Y1. The 757-300 is being replaced by the 787-3 widebody.