stevej0531

I totally agree, did the same BOS-LHR route for 18 months, almost exclusively on the 757, it did feel a little like a private jet, and the left turn was a welcome change.

Trustguy

Flying ex-LAX, we got a lot of these planes. My most vivid memory is banging my head on the damn drop down screen on the way to the F lav. I still bend down when I pass through F on many aircraft.

flatlander

AA operated the 75L from JFK to STN (London Stansted) for a couple of years around 2006-2007. It's difficult to see it as other than an attempt to drive Maxjet (startup cheap all-business airline) out of business, though at the time the Transatlantic market was booming so more seats made some economic sense. I used this several times to get to BOS - the tossup being whether it was more hassle to go to nearby STN and deal with JFK immigration and a flight to BOS or travel to the further LHR but take a direct LHR-BOS flight. The novelty of the 75L usually won out for me.
I recall the flights being rather quiet, load factors were never very high. Business class was particularly deserted, which I'm sure affected revenues badly. Even without very high status in those days, I still got upgraded to the NGBC seat more than once. An AA lounge was under construction in 2007 or early 2008 when the route was, fairly abruptly, pulled. I suspect having driven Maxjet under there was less need for it, but the oncoming recession was already beginning to bite so it wasn't surprising that AA closed the route even without Maxjet as competition.
By 2010 the idea of any transatlantic flights from STN was laughable, traffic was down 25% from 2007 as everyone felt poorer. STN traffic figures did not exceed 2007 levels until 2016, driven by the rise and rise of Ryanair, several leisure-focused airlines, and a rotating parade of startup airlines from Turkey.
We still have no transatlantic flights from STN. The only long haul flight is Emirates to Dubai, although I don't expect that to survive the coronavirus.

1K-DFW

I never flew the 757 internationally but it was the only plane that gave an international experience on a domestic route. For the past couple of years the 757 was a staple on the DFW-PHL route. Sitting up front was great. I recall a few times in PHL where the plane was serviced for an international route but was swapped last minute for domestic. So we got to enjoy flagship business bedding and amenity kits for a 3 hour flight to DFW. Will miss this plane!

Ty Vil

This is an interesting article.

The Redemption of the 757 - VisualApproach

Ty Vil

I've read several times that the 737 fully loaded doesn't have the power to weight ratio for continuous climb out:

The below article references that.

https://www.businessinsider.com/boei...cement-2016-11

Furthermore, the 757 can comfortably climb straight to its cruising altitude. On the other hand, the 737 requires a step climb procedure that calls for the plane to climb to a certain altitude and burn off some fuel to lighten the load before continuing on to a higher altitude.

stheller

I've flown on them a few times.
The domestically configured ones were horrid even in "1st class". I took one from Anchorage to DFW in 1st class and that was about the longest 6 hours of my life.
The internationally configured ones were pretty nice though, in 1st class at least.

stheller

Yes, I got lucky that way the last time I went to PHL (October 2019). It was very nice even on a short flight.

James91

I’m sure these were nice in Business but I did some economy TATL on them out of JFK and it was always a pretty grim experience, particularly sans AVOD. Won’t be shedding too many tears. Had better experiences on UA 757s though.

AANYC1981

Remember the brief period when AA went from 22F to 24F cabins with the newer slim blue seats?

SFTNYC

Before the US Airways merger these were a trunk route workhorse - DFW and ORD seemed to get a lot of MD-80s and 737s from LGA/BOS, but MIA (and obviously the west coast destinations) were always 757s. Same for most of the ski destinations from DFW - many a fond holiday memory.

I've never had the experience of 2L boarding on AA - the domestic configured ones for the longest time had a pair of seats in front of 2L which I suppose would have made it awkward for boarding (which US, UA and DL configs omitted). I was more of a US Airways flyer then - post-9/11 the 757s went from 24F to 8F (which were mixed in with 14F America West 757s after the merger and I don't believe ever standardized before being retired). Many of the older US and HP 757s started life at launch customer Eastern.

Ty Vil

My favorite AA rant - slightly off topic:

The AA ratio of F/J to Y on their airplanes is absolutely atrocious compared to the competition except for the 77W.

752 - 12 domestic recliner first class seats - UA/DL - no less than 20.

20 business class seats on the 788 and A332 is a joke.

Fraser

When the brown slabs were replaced with those 1st generation 737-800 seats?

JTK

I remember flying a 757 out of SNA. Nothing like sitting at the end of the runway, going to full power and then releasing the breaks. The climb was dramatic but when they reduced power for noise abatement is was dramatic.

JDiver

And then there were none. Last AA 757-223 flight, N173AN, is in the air right now, headed to the boneyard.