WHAT was the REAL Reason Boeing KILLED the 757??

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Why did Boeing decide to stop making the 757?! Pilots and passengers alike just LOVED this beautiful aircraft, but the last one rolled out of Boeing’s Renton factory in October 2004 – EVEN though it’s a much newer design than the 737. Why did Boeing do this and… why didn’t they just develop some version of the 757, that could replace the 737 back then – WELL before the 737 MAX family was launched?

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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode.

[aerofoca]

I don't care what anyone says. As an Aerospace engineer and passenger, the 757 is a takeoff performance rocket which is unmatched. How many planes can take off from a short runway like SNA or Skiathos and comfortably do transcons without any weight restrictions even westbound. Also a great look airplane!!

[AmbitiousGuess]

Im lucky to be a current 757 pilot, they say never meet your heroes, but having wanted to fly it since I was a kid, this aeroplane certainly does not disappoint. It’s as close to perfect as an airliner can get, the perfect mix of analogue and digital, it helps you out enough, without doing too much and allowing you to be involved with the process of flying it.

It’s just as happy doing London to Manchester as it is crossing the Atlantic Ocean. As passengers, I’d guess that 98% of what people call ‘full thrust takeoffs’ are actually only 75% of Maximum and derate 2, and yet it’ll still out-climb anything!

Actual Full thrust, empty takeoffs are downright scary… Absolutely phenomenal machine.

[thomasbelmont]

Back in the 1980s I was on an Eastern Airlines flight from Boston Logan to Miami.
Just before takeoff, the captain came on and said “This beautiful 757 that is only three weeks old. We love this plane and we’d like you to notice it’s takeoff performance“ (essentially saying “watch this!“).
We were lightly loaded, and after rotating he just kept on pulling, and by the time we reached the far end of the runway we were +3000’ and climbing like a bandit. It really was a thrill, and also illustrates a time when pilots (especially Eastern pilots) could have a little fun and share the joy of flying with their passengers:)

[munseym]

There was one smaller factor. The 757 factory was heavily damaged by an earthquake in February 2001. (I was standing 50 feet away when it happened.) They patched it up a little and were able to produce one a month after that, more due to lagging sales than the facility, but if they wanted high production they would have had to invest a lot of money to repair the facility or move production somewhere else. The building was eventually tore down and the property sold.

[haydenfox]

Fun fact: The last 757 built is now flying for Delta as N823DX

[gpzyglp]

Back in the days when Boeing knows how to build a no non sense plane ..

[ReneBuret]

I flew that jet for years. Every button, switch and indicator are located exactly where you would want them to be. It is the Ferrari of airliners.

[MrSuzuki]

I flew the 757 for United for 14 years/9, 000 hours and it was the best airplane I have ever flown! I recall the day I had to make a takeoff from Orange County KSNA, California. The runway was only 5, 700 feet long but inspite of this, I took off carrying 183 passengers and flew non-stop to Newark, NJ landing with 1.3 hours of fuel remaining. Try that with a 737 Max.

[ssnider]

Most informative. I've wondered for years why the 757 was discontinued, and now it makes sense to me. Petter, you not only educate your audience about the aviation industry, but you always demonstrate the power of rational thinking. I'm very grateful to you.

[samy]

My special lady friend is a flight attendant, and she told me that she _loves_ working on the B757, because the restrooms are at the front and middle of the aircraft, but the galley is in the rear (and quite spacious), which means that the flight attendants can do their work prepping for the inflight services, without having to contend with the hassle of passengers getting in the way in order to use the bathroom. She said that it’s a very smooth and comfortable airliner to work on as a flight attendant, definitely one of her favorites.

[MH-xdnd]

We take this content for granted sometimes, but this channel is better than most paid terrestrial and cable TV streaming. A Mentour weekend is always a great weekend! 🎉

[russbarrows]

I saw your coffee cup that says: "Inop". For a short time while recovering from a physical problem I was assigned to do maintenance debriefing at U Tapao during the Vietnam war. I would see Inop scrawled many, many times. In one case, the B-52 crew sitting across from me they looked like they had just showered with their cloths on. Two items had broken inbound to the target. One was the environmental controls, which didn't concern me, and the other was the autoflight controls which did concern me and the avionics shop. Inop did not begin to describe the effort it took for the crew to to complete the mission and return to U Tapao. Apparently, they were trading out the entire crew to fly the BUF because the constant 55 lbs they were fighting were tiring out one man after another. Without the strength to hold the yokes the BUF would dive. This crew was mad!!

[DaleSteel]

I'm a airbus guy but the 757 is my favourite aircraft of all time

[brianmcnichols]

The L1011 and 757 are engineering masterpieces. As an engineer, I had the pleasure of working on both at Delta Air Lines.

[jannepeltonen]

After a few decades flying DC9s and MD80 variants, my dad finally retired from flying 757s in 2007. He really loved them. Back in 1999, the pilot contract for Finnair pilots stated that if a pilot had to stay at work over Christmas, they could take one family member with them (spouse or any kid under 25). So at 20, I got to fly in the cockpit of a 757 first from Helsinki to Dubai, then from Dubai to Phuket, spend Christmas there, then from Bangkok to Dubai, and from Dubai back to Helsinki. On some legs, aviation enthusiasts or small kids would come visit the cockpit; on one leg, a really frustrated purser would come to ask for assistance about a loud drunk (who luckily passed out before he couldn't create more trouble). Over the Indian Ocean in the bright sunlight, we would tune the AM radio to listen to the Finnish public broadcaster's longwave frequency, and catch a comedy show (Alivaltiosihteeri, for the Finns in here). The landing to Phuket International was magical to watch from the jumpseat, with the runway starting almost directly from the ocean...

No more 757s, American overreaction and paranoia means nobody from the general public (or even crew family members) gets to access the cockpit to marvel the miracle of aviation anymore, pilots' union has weakened so no more taking family members on company expenses for five days for Christmas, no more longwave radio broadcasts even :D Well, at least I have my memories. And kids these days will have their cherished memories about other cool and beautiful things.

[jeffberner]

I was one of the structures engineers on the 757-300 program, responsible for integrating the tail skid. According to Arkia, the 757-300 had the lowest CASM of any airplane on the market. It was only until the A321neo that something that could match it. So if you can fill the airplane it will be a profit maker. A stretched 757-300 only is valuable to airlines that operate a current fleet of 757-200 aircraft, which by late-1990s and early 2000s were primarily US domestic airlines--Delta, American, United, Northwest, US Airways. As stated here, 9/11 and the resulting downturn knocked the legs out from under the program as it put a halt to any idea of fleet expansion in US domestic industry. Eventually Northwest used the 757-300 to replace its aging DC-10s on its Hawaii routes, which are the most competitive routes in the United States, and took advantage of the low CASM that the airplane offered. Fundamentally, the 757 has the purchase costs of a wide body because it just wasn't produced at sufficient rate to come down the learning curve. The much lower cost 737-800/900 can do practically all the routes except for longer range routes, like to South America, where that large wing is needed.

[nickch_]

There was a time when Boeing was producing 737, 747, 757, 767 and the 777 at the same time? And now they only sell 3 families while ruining their legendary 737 best seller 😮

[PassiveSmoking]

I remember hearing someone joking that you didn't fly the 757-300, you board at one end, walk along the cabin, and disembark at your destination at the other end.

[ngana]

Instead of building the disastrous 737-Max, Boeing should have built a 757-Max.

[nufosmatic]

16:23 - The PW4000 was the first engine certified by the FAA for test flight on this class of airliner based entirely upon simulation results. My customer was P&W, and my product was the real-time UNIX super-microcomputer that ran the simulation code while jacked into the engine live on the test stand. P&W did not have to buy a prototype electronic engine control from Hamilton Standard, which saved P&W a million dollars but cost HS a million dollars (cost of the first article). P&W beat GE to the 777 test flight - Boeing pulled six weeks out of the competitive schedule, and I had to help P&W over some issues because of the abbreviated schedule.