I was reading today that Delta is reconfiguring their 767-400s for more international flights, as well as the soon-to-be former Song 757s. They'll be keeping Song's leather seats and adding a first class cabin and spreading PTVs throughout their fleet.
Exciting to hear about airlines using 757s across the pond.
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Not until you have to fly on one across the pond. What an awful thought...being cooped up in a narrowbody 757 for all those hours.Originally Posted by Phil D.
Yeah its not that much fun. When I went to Alaska this summer our flying time was 7.5 hours from DFW to ANC, if that plane was full I probably would have killed myself. To many people standing in the aisle made it a pain to move around. Then there was this one woman who was doing Jazzasize or something, god did I want to knock her down.Not until you have to fly on one across the pond. What an awful thought...being cooped up in a narrowbody 757 for all those hours.
The fact is however the 757s are extremely efficient aircraft and very versatile. They are pretty much cash cows on the Atlantic runs. One thing that surprises me is why Boeing stopped production. It seems that after production stopped the 757s became almost the god send of the airlines on the international scene. I highly doubt she'd be brought back but certainly interesting to research.
[quote=T-Bird76]Yeah its not that much fun. When I went to Alaska this summer our flying time was 7.5 hours from DFW to ANC, if that plane was full I probably would have killed myself. To many people standing in the aisle made it a pain to move around. Then there was this one woman who was doing Jazzasize or something, god did I want to knock her down.Not until you have to fly on one across the pond. What an awful thought...being cooped up in a narrowbody 757 for all those hours.
The fact is however the 757s are extremely efficient aircraft and very versatile. They are pretty much cash cows on the Atlantic runs. One thing that surprises me is why Boeing stopped production. It seems that after production stopped the 757s became almost the god send of the airlines on the international scene. I highly doubt she'd be brought back but certainly interesting to research.[/quote:a4eb8]
i was about to post same thing about DFW-MCO flight.....i wanted to kill myself, packed full , and the seats in front of me, next to me , and behind me were all people speaking spanish!!! lol
Two wrongs might not make a right, but three rights make a left!
"Efficient" and "versatile" don't mean a whole lot to the customers who are stuck on a narrowbody aircraft for 8 hours. I'd certainly pay more to fly on an airline that has widebody longhaul service to where I want to go. I simply cannot fathom being on a narrowbody flight for that long. SFO-LIH on a 757 was 6 hours, and that was downright awful.
However Efficient and versatile mean a lot to the airlines who are struggling to earn a profit. I agree that the 757 isn't the most comfortable plane for long haul but the economics make sense for the airlines. Remember to how many passengers even know what kind of plane they are traveling on even when there sitting in their seat. From our perspective we know what plane we are on and can try to avoid booking a narrowbody but the average consumer wouldn't know the difference between a 757 or a 737."Efficient" and "versatile" don't mean a whole lot to the customers
However sort of on an off topic a bit with the recent flood of domestic airlines expanding their international routes how long will it be until competition begins eating away at those margins? The 757 is great but when four or five airlines start beating themselves silly for market share to wherever will those 757s still bring home the bacon?
I think that if a customer flies on a 757 to Europe, there's a chance that he or she may seek to find a different carrier the next time simply because he or she knows that some airlines fly those "big planes" across the ocean. I think even the average person can appreciate the difference in size between a widebody and a narrowbody on a flight like that.
I agree that the average person certainly can appreciate a widebody over a narrow body but again the economics of how profitable a route is comes into play. Sadly the airlines over that past few years have cut back on coach to really an extreme. In particular American has cut back so much that their coach product offers you less then Southwest on the domestic scene.I think that if a customer flies on a 757 to Europe, there's a chance that he or she may seek to find a different carrier the next time simply because he or she knows that some airlines fly those "big planes" across the ocean. I think even the average person can appreciate the difference in size between a widebody and a narrowbody on a flight like that.
Lets also look at what aircraft are available for wide body long haul use. There's not that many choices, 767-200s are being retired, most of them expect for CO's birds are 20 plus years old and cost a nice sum to operate. The 767-300 really is just to big for places like Berlin, Dublin, and New Castle just as examples of new markets. Those cities just don't generate the passenger traffic to warrant a 300. The A330 is only used by US and they don't have enough to operate to all their Euro destinations. The 777 and 747 simply are to big again. So that leaves only the 757 to fill the role. So what we really have here is a missing link.
What's needed is a widebody that seats between 200 and 250 people and is equally as efficient as the 757 and offers passengers the comfort they expect on long haul routes. Enter the 787-8, not as large as the 763 or 772 but more efficient then the 757 and its a widebody. So right now we have to suffer through this gap in available efficient aircraft until the 787 rolls out.
Again going off topic a bit I'm more excited about the 787 then the A380. The 380 is big and impressive but the 787 will revolutionize air travel just as the DC-3, 707, and 747 did. The economics, technology, and passenger experience the 787 promises to bring is nothing like what we've seen thus far. This aircraft is truly one of the most impressive engineering feats Boeing has ever undertaken. They are positioning themselves for the future of air travel and its my belief the 787 will put Boeing on top for good.
just to add, NW has a sizable A330 operation as well ;)
Speaking of 757, I recently saw a picture taken in Osaka airport in Japan, where a NWA 757 was taxiing. Can it be that a 757 is being operated on a Trans-Pacific route?
Izhar
NWA did base a few 757's at NRT for interasian service such as NRT-MNL, NRT-PEK service among others but now they are back to all wide-body in Asia I believe !
Cheers
LGA777
I find it interesting that NWA haven't been operating interasian routes by codesharing with local carriers. After all, NWA is part of SkyTeam.
I think they should work out their problems in the USA before starting intercontinental problems :lol:I find it interesting that NWA haven't been operating interasian routes by codesharing with local carriers. After all, NWA is part of SkyTeam.
Two wrongs might not make a right, but three rights make a left!
like Pan Am had the europe based 727's
Overheard on JFK TOWER - S Turns are fine, U-Turns are bad....
I once flew on DL 764 MIA-ATL ... Will miss not doing that again.
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