Boeing 757-200: The Most Successful 757 Yet!

Today, the Boeing 757 is arguably one of the most famous narrow body jet airliners Boeing has ever produced! For the most part, this is down to the immense success of the the Boeing 757-200!

Despite the eldest 757-200s being almost 40 years old, the majority of the fleet are still actively flying. Unlike most other 40 year-old jets, many are still used in the west on a regular basis too.

Pre-Boeing 757-200

The late 1950’s and early 1960’s had proven to be one of the best periods for Boeing. During this time, Boeing had released numerous new jets, which had made them billions in today’s money.

In 1957, Boeing saw the first flight of the 707 – their first jet airliner. Two years later would see the first flight of their short-range 707 derivative, the Boeing 720.

1963 would see the first flight of the 727, which would replace the ageing Boeing 720s. Four years later, would see the introduction of the Boeing 737-100, the first true short-haul jet airliner (by modern standards).

Two years after that, would see the introduction of arguably Boeing’s most famous jet yet: the 747. The original 747, the 747-100, would first fly in 1969, before entering service in 1970.

Over the course of the 1970’s, Boeing wouldn’t introduce any new airliners. Instead, they would simply introduce re-engineered variants of their 1950’s/60’s jet airliners.

By the mid-to-late 1970’s, however, the mostly 1950’s design of the 727 had gotten too old. It needed either a major update, or replacing by a considerably better, all-new jet.

This would allow it to effectively compete against the largest members of the DC-9 family!

Development

After doing the calculations, Boeing realized that modernizing the 727 would cost just as much as developing a brand-new jet would. Plus, more airlines were interested in an all-new jet.

So, in many ways, it was a no-brainer that Boeing start designing an all-new jet, which it did in late 1976. By 1978, Boeing had designs for two variants of what it called the 7N7 (later, the 757).

The first, designated as the 7N7-100, had the ability to seat about 160 people (or about 10-15% more than that of the leading 737 for the day).

The second, however, designated as the 7N7-200, had the ability to seat 200 people. This proved to be a good move for Boeing, as the 7N7-100 had little interest to speak of, whilst the 7N7-200 was uncannily popular.

During the design effort, Boeing had spared almost no expense, using the latest engines, avionics and all-new composite materials for large portions of the jet. This made the 7N7 arguably the most advanced jet for its time!

In the end, both Eastern Air Lines and British Airways publicly committed to the 7N7-200 (now redesignated as the Boeing 757-200) in 1979, with Eastern becoming the type’s launch customer.

Operational History

Following the 757-200’s first flight on February 19 1982, it would enter service with Eastern Air Lines on January 1 the following year. From here, the jet would go on to have a rather interesting service life!

Commercial

After entering service with Eastern Air Lines, a number of other major airlines would also acquire their own 757-200s. Within only a few years, the 757-200 was in use by a number of major world airlines.

Whilst used by major world airlines, the jet was often used as a long haul airliner, often on low-demand international routes (with the 747 taking high-demand routes, and the 767 taking medium-demand routes).

Over time, however, a number of smaller airlines have also gotten their hands on the 757-200. For many, they have used them in the same roles, where the Boeing 757-200 would often serve as that airline’s flagship.

A few airlines of these airlines saw that the operating costs of a 757-200 and 737 per seat, where quite similar. Using this, many of them began to use the Boeing 757-200 on high-demand, short-haul routes.

Despite the 757-200 having entered service in the early 1980’s, many early operators still operate the jet today.

Whilst most other jets of the era have been retired, airlines are reluctant (and even hostile to the idea of!) getting rid of their Boeing 757-200s.

With that being said, the introduction of newer members of the A320 and 737 families respectively, have resulted in many airlines planning to phase out the 757 in favor of these newer jets.

Cargo

When Boeing first announced the 757-200, a number of cargo airlines became interested in the jet. Whilst the was thin, it was quite long, which made it perfect for transporting small-to-medium-sized cargo.

However, Boeing didn’t announce a cargo variant straight away. Undeterred, a number of major cargo airlines, Primarily UPS Airlines and FedEx Express began demanding a 757-200 cargo aircraft from Boeing.

Eventually, Boeing acquiesced and released the 757-200PF in 1987. On top of this, Boeing would also produce a special one-off 757-200 combi (officially known as the 757-200M) for Nepal Airlines cargo division.

In recent years, a few of 757-200s have been retired or stored for financial reasons. With this, many Boeing 757-200s have been converted into cargo aircraft, which has given them a second service life!

These airliners are often converted by Boeing, and are thus given the brand new designation of Boeing 757-200SF, however, some are done by third party companies. The largest operator of the 757-200SF is DHL Aviation.

Today, the 757 is as popular as ever. Almost every major cargo airline in the world operates the jet, even if these jets are almost 40 years old. Those that don’t, are often looking to buy one…

Charter

Beginning in the late 1980’s, a number of charter airlines would begin to acquire the Boeing 757-200. Here, the jet would often make up a large majority of the their fleet.

For many charter airlines, the reason they acquired the 757-200 was simple: It was there. The mid-to-late 1980’s had seen a number of large airlines go under, seeing their jets be stored at aircraft graveyards the world over.

As fairly new aircraft, these airliners were still quite valuable.

However, established didn’t need them, so many were up for sale with ridiculously low price tags, often as low as a few million per jet (that a few years ago, had been $65 million!)

Thanks to this, many charter airlines that were just starting out, bought these virtually brand new 757-200s and operated them on their highest-demand short-haul, or medium-demand long haul routes.

For many of the more established charter airlines, they had the clout and money to buy the Boeing 757-200 straight from the factory. With this, they would do much of the same things as their newly established rivals!

Some charter airlines would even use their 757-200s solely as freighters, due to their relative cheapness to operate when compared to other cargo jets.

Unfortunately, a number of major charter airlines have gone under in recent years, which has often seen their jets be placed into storage. With this, they are just sat, waiting for someone to give them a second chance…

VIP

As of the time of writing, there are a number of 757-200s which serve as VIP transport aircraft for world leaders. In many cases, the jet is the only one used on international routes.

You see, to many governments, the 757-200 has all the practicalities of both the 737 and 747.

The 757 can land on most of the runways that the 737 can, including those with noise restrictions (which the 747 can’t). However, the 757 has the size and increased range of the 747, that the 737 simply doesn’t have.

Due to this, the 757-200 has been used by five countries around the world as one of the aircraft used to transport their head of state. In the 757-200’s case, it is usually the flagship.

As of the time of writing, four countries currently use the 757-200 as their VIP transport: Saudi Arabia; Kazakhstan; Mexico and Argentina. Here they are decked out for the long-haul transport of high-value people.

Thanks to this, these 757s tend to have designated spaces to be used as offices, bedrooms, as well as conference rooms. These jets are also partly used to show the extent of their country’s wealth.

However, Saudi Arabia use their 757-200 in a slightly different role. Here, it is used by the royal family as a flying hospital, mostly for use by the king, who is well into his eighties.

On top of this, the USAF also operate a total of four 757-200-derived jets known as the Boeing C-32. Whilst not its only job, the C-32 regularly operates as Air Force Two – the official jet of the US Vice President.

Private Jet

However, it’s not just royals and world leaders who have begun being flown around in the 757-200. Indeed, for many of the same reasons, the Boeing 757-200 has become quite a popular business jet too!

Here, they come in two different forms. Some, are former airliners, which have been converted into private jets, whilst others have been factory-made to be business jets.

When Boeing first started the BBJ program, the 757 wasn’t included on it. However, some corporations saw the need for a large bizliner corporate jet, and began searching for a suitable jet.

A number of these corporations would settle on the 757, buying old ones from airlines and giving them luxury interiors. In this case, there were a number of 757 business, which were operated anonymously for privacy concerns.

Seeing this, Boeing introduced the 757 to the BBJ program, creating the 757BBJ. Alas, it didn’t prove to be that popular, only selling five times (mostly to anonymous operators).

Perhaps the most famous of all the 757-200 used as business jets, is the one used by Donald Trump. This jet was commonly known as “Trump Force One” during his 2016 Presidential Campaign, a name it has kept since.

Museum

Despite the Boeing 757-200 being less than 40 years old, the jet has already made for a rather popular museum exhibit, with one currently on display around the world.

This 757-200, registered as N608DA, is on display at Delta’s Delta Flight Museum, in Atlanta, Georgia. Here, it serves as a static display outside the museum’s entrance.

Previously, N608DA had served with Delta, having been delivered in May 1985. The jet would then be in Delta service until October 2003, when it was used by Delta’s second low-cost airline, Song Airlines, which used an all-757-200 fleet.

However, Song Airlines would fold in 2006, with all of its 757-200s being placed back into Delta service. From here, the jet would be used by Delta until its retirement in October 2013, and stored at Marana Pinal Airpark.

In April 2014, however, it was repainted in its original “Classic Widget” retro livery and flown to Atlanta. Here, Delta placed the jet in their company’s museum as an ode to the Boeing 757-200’s service with the airline.

At the museum, it is a part of the outdoor collection, being close to the famed N661US 747-400. This jet was the first 747-400 ever built, originally flying for Northwest, before being used by Delta after the merger.

Specifications

Whilst the 757-200 wasn’t derived from either the 720 or the 727, their designs had a large impact on the 757’s. As such, there are slight similarities between some of the jets’ specs.

On top of this, the Boeing 757-200 would be developed into the less successful 757-300. As a result, the jet shares a lot in common with the 757-300 too.

Boeing would also develop the 757 and 767 side-by-side, with many of the 757 and 767 teams collaborating with one another. As a result, both these jets too, have a few similar specs…

Specifications	Boeing 757-200
Length	155 ft 3 in (47.3 m)
Wingspan	124 ft 10 in (38 m)
Height	44 ft 6 in (13.6 m)
Crew	2
Passengers	200 – 239
Cruise Speed	0.8 Mach (854 km/h; 531 mph; 461 kn)
Range	7,250 km (4,500 mi; 3,915 nmi)
Service Ceiling	42,000 ft (13,000 m)
MTOW	255,000 lb (115,660 kg)

Why Was The Boeing 757-200 so Successful?

Over the course of a twenty-year period, Boeing built and delivered a grand total of 994 757-200s. This makes the jet one of the most successful airliners of recent years.

And this is for good reason. The 757-200 is a masterpiece.

For starters, the 757-200 was cheap. In 2002, Boeing wanted $65 million for a brand-new 757-200, at the same, the company wanted $58.5 million for the much smaller 737-600.

However, it wasn’t just cheaper to buy. It was also cheaper to operate. Per seat, the 757-200 cost a little bit less than the 737, whilst having a capacity similar to the 707 or DC-8s of old.

This fact made the Boeing 757-200 profitable on both short and long haul routes. In this capacity, the 757 would be used on lower-demand long haul/international routes, and high-demand, short-haul routes!

On top of all this, the 757-200 had higher performance specs than both the 737 and 747 in many ways. But it did so in such a way that complimented both jets nicely, without taking sales away from either jet.

All of this made it so that many airlines, both large and small, could operate large fleets of the aircraft, with many becoming quite loyal to the aircraft, refusing to give them up, even in the face of mounting maintenance costs!

How Safe Was The Boeing 757-200?

In recent years, Boeing aircraft have seemingly gotten quite a bad rep, when it comes to safety. For the most part, this is due to the highly publicized 737 MAX incident of recent years.

Whilst the 737 MAX will likely be remembered for being one of the most dangerous aircraft of recent years, most Boeing jets are surprisingly safe aircraft. So this begs the question, which is the 757-200 more like?

The answer: The rest of Boeing’s jets. All in all, the Boeing 757-200 is one of the safest aircraft you could fly on to date!

In total, Boeing built 994 757-200s over a twenty-year period. Of these 994 757-200s, only 30 have been involved in any form of aviation-related accident. Of these 30 incidents, only a half were crashes, with less than a third being fatal.

As a result, the 757-200 has sadly had a number of fatalities, totaling up to a little under 500 fatalities. However, it must be said that 108 of these fatalities were due to two 757-200s being hijacked, on September 11 2001.

With that being said, the 757 is famous for having an issue with wake turbulence. This has caused its own fair share of fatal and high-profile crashes, usually involving private jets and general aviation aircraft.

Legacy

Due in large part to the immense success of the 757-200, the jet has left a rather large impact on the industry as a whole. Unlike many other jets we cover, the 757-200 is still making their legacy as of the time of writing!

Boeing

The 1980’s were a period of reconstruction for Boeing. The late 1970’s had been particular harsh on the aviation industry, due to a rather large oil crisis, which caused the price of oil to skyrocket.

By the start of the 1980’s, Boeing had begun rebuilding, releasing a number of new, or updated aircraft. Primarily, this included the 747-300, 757-200 and 767-200.

Whilst the 747-300 was a complete failure, both the 757-200 and 767-200 were quiet successful. The 757-200, in particular, was quite successful, earning Boeing billions in today’s money!

Using this money, Boeing would shore itself up financially, as well as funding the development of newer airliners. You probably know these airliners as the 777 and 787…

Boeing 757

Today, there are hundreds of Boeing 757-200s still flying. Whilst most are passenger aircraft, many are slowly being converted into freighters, either by Boeing or by third-party companies.

As a result, many 757-200s are likely going to be flying well into the 2030’s, and probably the 2040’s as well! Sadly, however, this will likely be as cargo aircraft, not passenger ones.

Hopefully, many more 757-200s will go to aviation museums around the world, when they have been officially retired. Perhaps one or more of these museums will offer heritage flights on their 757-200s!

Future Aircraft

Most famously, the standard 757-200 would be developed into the 757-200M and 757-200PF, which were both cargo-oriented variants of the 757-200 passenger jet (with the -200M being changeable between the two!)

Beyond this, the 757-200 would be used as the basis for the less successful, stretched 757-300. Whilst this wasn’t as successful, it is still an indispensable aircraft in many airlines’ fleets!

On top of this, both the 757 and 767 were designed in tandem. As a result, once Boeing ceased production of the 757 in 2004, the 737, A320 and 767 (partly) began designed to fill the 757-200’s role.

As a result, the designs of the 737 MAX, A321xlr and parts of the 767-400ER have been largely influenced by the Boeing 757-200’s design. Mostly, this has been what made the jet so successful in its given role.

What do you think of the Boeing 757-200? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!