Airlines Expand 757s to Europe and Beyond

Posted by: Justin Bachman on October 27

Remember the days when flying across the ocean meant a plane with two aisles? (If not a 747 with a piano?) Those days are long gone. The 757, right, a model that Boeing (BA) stopped making three years ago, is becoming the bird of choice to cross the Atlantic for penny-pinching U.S. airlines.

The latest 757 deployment that caught my attention was Delta’s planned route from Atlanta to Liberia, in West Africa, beginning next June. This is a 12-hour flight westbound, 11 from the U.S. If you are not lucky enough to be sitting in the front, say a prayer for your legs. Delta says its international 757s are not the same as those used domestically. The seats are leather and each economy seat has its own entertainment system. (Irony alert: The Liberia news came the same week Delta’s corporate blog praised the larger 767, the company’s main international model.)

Continental (CAL) has long used the 757 from its Newark hub to destinations in Europe that did not justify more seats, such as Barcelona, Cologne, Dublin, Hamburg, and Lisbon. Delta moved into the act to Europe this year, as has US Airways (LCC). US Airways flies 757s trans-Atlantic from Philadelphia and will add them next May on new seasonal routes to Birmingham and Oslo. With more than 1,000 still in service, the 757 is a much-appreciated workhorse, and airlines love the fuel savings they realize after adding blended winglets. Personally, I like the jet just fine – domestically. But after sitting for six hours or so, I think I’d really prefer something a bit wider.