A321NEO vs 757 - Delta's Boeing 757 Retirement

Delta will keep its Boeing 757s operational till the 2030s as it looks to obtain as much life as possible from them. Interestingly, the airline has orders for the Airbus A321neo but notes that it struggles to source the perfect replacement for the 757 nearly two decades after production concluded. But, just why is the airline not looking to retire the aircraft?

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#aviation #news #flight #aircraft #avgeek #airplane #airlines #airport #planespotting #airbus #boeing

[johnchristmas]

Brit here, to be fair, the 757 was a sports car of a Airliner and built when Boeing knew what it was doing, safety being paramount. Keeping the 757, thats a airline decision, which means, they still think its a great aircraft. I would agree. So long as they keep it away from modern day Boeing- A 757 replacement? dont even go there! . As to the A321Neo very similar, less capacity but better returns on fuel usage. So its a bit like horses for courses. Of the Old Boeing range, these aircraft still today, show their original strengths and if proof were needed, shows that engineering led and safety foremost how aircraft should be built.!
I love Airbus and all its achievements in a world market originally owned by Boeing, surging forward. Boeing of today is run by Greed and Wall st. so sad. Just think, given the chance what they could build-not the MAX crap thats for sure.

[alunjones]

I bet there's a few Boeing people that wish they still had the 757 production line. With newer engines it would still be competitive today.

[a_goblue]

The fact that the 757 still competes range wise and performance wise with an aircraft 30 years newer than it shows how great of a design it is. Sure it’s not as fuel efficient but its take off performance is still crazy. If they coulda gotten new engines for it it likely coulda been around for decades to come

[stevebytheway]

The 757 is one of the best planes out there. What they should do is come up with a 757neo.

[rjservicetransport]

757 is by far what i think the best Boeing plane built. A sportscar that feels just safe!

[chriss]

A few of the routes I used to ride 757s on with them are now 320/321 routes. Ran into a 757 for the first time in awhile back in December between ATL and RIC

[Sacto]

I still think Delta may look at increasing the A321neo and A321LR order to replace the 757-200, possibly as many as 175 planes total. It has a similar carrying capacity to the 757-200 and almost identical range if you're talking the A321LR model, but at much lower fuel cost. Since Delta does service of the engines of the planes in-house, reliability of the engines is a less critical issue, too.

[tonyadamson]

The 757 has always been a favorite of mine since its introduction. Wherever I flew and depending on the airline I would always book a 757 flight.
Since DL is my hometown airline, I’m finding they’ve placed the A321 on many of the routes I usually fly out of ATL on the 757. A few times I was to be on the 757-300 to find it had been swapped for a -200 either at the last minute or due to scheduling. That’s always been a disappointment.
I look at it this way, if it’s not broken, why fix it? At first, I thought it was odd that DL hasn’t begun to replace the 757 and then I realized it’s a true workhorse for them and gets the job done. For years I had wished Boeing would reopen a production line for the 757. She will truly be missed when and if she is sent out to pasture.
One last thing, DL seems to be holding onto their 767-300s and 767-400s as well. Two other personal favorites I don’t get to fly on as much anymore.

[mrcommonsense]

757 has a big thrust to weight ratio advantage. Airbus could do a slightly longer stretch and add engines with 7-10k lbs of additional thrust and they would have a winner. 757 still has an advantage in certain circumstances such as hot and high.

[evanmcbride]

Ummmm does any one else have a secret crush on the 757 😂😂😂😂

[FrewstonBooks]

I once flew on a 757 transatlantic. The most uncomfortable flight I have ever endured - and I have been on many in over 60 years of flying. I have also flown the A321neo transatlantic, and it was a very comfortable flight, quiet and smooth. The A321 simply is a far better passenger experience.

[rrewy]

From an era when Boeing could build safe aircraft and profit wasnt the main priority.

[NovejSpeed]

The airbus can do most of the 75s mission as far as the bean counters go in all but two cargo capacity and hot/high/short field performance. As an Aeronautical engineering minor (Mechanical engineer major) i did a technical paper highlighting what the A321 can and can't do like the 757 for a Aerodynamics In Real World Operations course. In short, the A321s wing is its "Achilles" heel when using it as a 75 replacement. It doesn't provide near the lift nor fuel carrying capacity as the supercritical wing used on the 75. The later which explains why aux tanks and extended center tanks which impeed into the cargo areas on the LR and XLR are used. Basicallly as it is based on the a320 wing the a321 is about as long as you can stretch the fuselage before major gear modifications would be needed for rotation issues. (Just like the 737-900ER) Why does this matter? Because arguably the most important 757 and certainly most profitable ( AND longest) version the -300 series (due to its unbelievable CASM) has no NB replacement from Airbus or Boeing currently.

Here's the catch, Airbus has been a head of Boeing nearly every step of the way with the 21. The A321 was once one of Airbuses poorest performing NBs in sales, only the A318 being worse. But unlike Boeing (who closed the 75 line), Airbus kept the A321 in production as they bet that it not the 737-900ER or any other Boeing product would be the successor to the 75 (even if the earlier non sharklet models performance were far below the 75s)

They introduced sharklets which gave the wing less drag and better fuel economy and then the Neos arrived and it was game over for even in XLR form the A321 Neo is still not a true 75 replacement and Airbus knows it. It can do 95 or maybe more percent of the 75 mission which will be good enough for most airlines. But what about those like Should they just accept what the market has available as DJ hinted at here?


Airbus says "no" as they realized what the Achilles of the 321 is and they've already started addressing it. Airbus has started r&d on an all new extended span wing which could even employ the use of folding wing tips similar to those on the 777x. Supposedly it not only produces the lift of the 75 with similar fuel carrying capacity but it does it with a significant efficiency boost in fuel economy due to its lower drag coefficients. In short the aircraft that this wing shows up on will be a game changer. Combine it with slighltly more powerfu yet efficient Leap and GTF powerplants and this folks could be the true 75 replacement Delta wants. I predict the 757s true replacement will not be a Boeing NB (though a NB 787 produced with the 787-8 circa 767/757 would have been perfect) and it will not be an Airbus A321. I predict its replacement will be what some are calling the Airbus And heres something that should really scare Boeing....what if that wing found its way onto the A320 and/or larger A220 bye 737.

[ryanthomas]

The 321neo is the perfect replacement for US domestic 757 routes because its capacity and range are the same as many of the 757s used by Delta. The A321 LRs and ULRs probably can fill the passenger and range needs of the longer range 757s Delta uses (inherited from TWA) but the problem with replacing the 757s is more than just capacity and range. The 757 has an incredible payload capacity that the 321s can’t touch. The 321neo perfectly meets the passenger and range needs but falls short in the all important cargo business side of it. The 757 can haul up to 50% more cargo than the 321 and that is significant revenue. Don’t be surprised if Airbus rolls out a A322 variant that addresses that issue.

[CleverIV]

DL has done an amazing job keeping these birds looking young. Even more greatness in their ability to remain agile and flex them around the demand on usual 737/a320/321 routes.

[swissspinodroid]

I think another reason why Delta has no plans on retiring the jet compared to United is maybe based on the engine type. The RB211 which was the most popular option for the 757 is a heavy fuel burner compared to the PW2000. The RB211 is also much older since it was used since 1969, compared to the PW being introduced in 1981. According to Pratts website their engine is 6% more efficient which barely seems like anything but it’s a bigger topic today. The PW has the fuel burn ratio around the same as the CFM56 so it’s technically still not an intense fuel burner.

[michaelsteiger]

Having flown as a pilot on both aircraft, the 757 is clearly a superior aircraft in every way except fuel burn.. Delta even says they cannot get rid of it due to there is no replacement for it.period. Incontrovertible .

Now, the reason they just cannot re-engineering the 757 is the cost. The 757 and C17 are the only 2 planes who use the PW2037…. Engine manufactures will make a GTF but due to limited production, (airlines won’t commit) the cost would be prohibitive. Airlines will not spend the extra money when a plane that does 85% of the same job is available and is way cheaper. All production tooling exists. At Boeing. They could make a 707 if they want to today.

The 321 is a great plane, it’s just not as good as a 757. Sad the 757 is getting old…. Boeing really missed this and mostly due to SW not letting Boeing produce the 737 NG with the 757 cockpit. This really killed Boeing…AWST did a great article on this subject.

Very accurate presentation.

[Real_deal]

Definitely the right decision until they can get more A321 Neos. I fly on both often and I can now say the 321neo can be the replacement not the CEO

[SnapTie]

The rocket ship is my favorite plane.
For years I flew from TPA to MPS and returned weekly on Northwest airlines.
Then they merged with Delta bringing 61 757's to the party.
Now the route is served by 737's and 321:s. You can keep them.

[Phantomaviation]

i think delta will conclude retiring the 757 in 2034, the last 757 unit would have 30 years