Originally Posted by hughw

thankfully, they didn't "run out of fuel" or your friend would be in the atlantic. UA runs PMCO 757-200s to ARN and many other European cities where a larger plane isn't warrented. By using the 757-200, UA can offer many direct flights to more cities without the need for a connection. The downside is that in certain wind situations flying westward, almost always during the winter, a fuel stop is required. There's little doubt that this was in the flight plan on take off.