I flew a 757-300 today IAH-LAS and the first class cabin was similar to that of a 737, only there were more seats. Tomorrow I am flying a 757-200, should I expect the same only less seats?

Strange, cause I once flew a 757 from IAH to San Antonio which is a short route and it was configured with bigger seats. Does the differce I am describing sound like BF vs. FC?

Yep, the 757-200s are all in the process of conversion to BF equipped aircraft to support CO's European expansion/frequency addition out of EWR (and CLE, to a much lesser extent). The 757-200s have a significantly longer range than the -300s, allowing them to fly routes like EWR-ARN/TXL/HAM

The 757-300s are designed for packing as many cattle on board as possible in the rear cabin, plying primarily heavily-trod leisure routes to cities like MCO/LAS. They also frequently find their way onto IAH-LAX. The -300s don't have BF cabins (24 Domestic F seats, though). The -200s are equipped with 16 BF seats.

Getting a -200 on a domestic flight is always a nice surprise. It's good for a chuckle boarding in MSY for the 45 minute flight to IAH, and sitting in a plush BF seat...well knowing that some poor schmo is on a much longer IAH-CLT flight, with nothing to choose from but ERJs...

Indeed, considering most will be deployed internationally in a few months.

Unless, of course, it results in being downgraded from your first class seat in the larger -300 cabin.

I believe a majority of them are already deployed internationally. The thing is, given their range, these aircraft will not utilize an entire 24hour time cycle in the air on their *relatively* short trips to Europe (side-trips to Goose-Bay notwithstanding).

I'm not entirely certain, but flights like IAH-AMS/EZE block out at almost 24 hours for a gate-to-gate roundtrip (including ground time). I would not be surprised to learn that specific aircraft are dedicated to these routes, and would thus not rotate through the route network.

OTOH, the 757-200s have enough dead-time when they get back to a hub to be sent out on shuttle missions to places like FLL & MSY. I don't think that 757-200s will be a complete rarity on domestic flights, but will simply be confined to certain routes.

All of the CO 757-200 aircraft now have 16 BF seats in the forward cabin. There are a couple of transcon, Florida, and other routes that get some service with these on domestic routes.

Any idea how many are now equipped with the new AVOD? On a recent BF flight from LGW, the 752 had AVOD, but I didn't get to play with it due to being severely hungover and desperately needing sleep

The IAH flights make sense, but I'd tend to think the EWR based 752s provide too much extra time. Between 8 hours out and 9 back, the plane is only in the states from 1:20-6:45 on the CGN route. Since that is only 5 hours, I don't really see how the AC could be used for anything much more than BOS, WAS, et al. that are close enough for that quick of a turnaround (and not for longer FLL and MSY). Perhaps other routes are shorter and allow the MSY and FLL use for the AC?

Planes don't stay on the same route. CGN is one of the longer 752 routes, so the plane goes out early and comes back relatively late.

But the Ireland/UK flights depart late in the evening. Some at 9pm or later. A 752 coming back from Europe in the early afternoon can do a roundtrip to Florida and be back in time for a UK/Ireland departure.

The CO 757-200 aircraft are now all equipped with AVOD in BF and in-seat power through row 16.

Yep...depending on winds, an EWR-SNN flight can be shorter than a transcon. Plenty of time left over to hop down to FLL.

The CGN flight is scheduled into EWR at 13:55. Most of the others return earlier to EWR. One of those aircraft can easily return from Europe in time to serve, say, CO65 to LAX, then return overnight to EWR as a red eye, fly EWR-FLL, FLL-EWR, and be back at EWR by 3pm or 4pm, well in time for the next day's trip to Europe.

You meant through row 16...correct?

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...raft/752.aspx?

It also appears I am flying IAH-SFO on a 757-200 next week. There doesnt seem to be too much outward logic behind the routes, but I am sure they have their reasons.

I wouldn't call the BF seats plush but they are a way better than Y and you can sleep in them unlike Y. The 752 seem to rotate between domestic and international. My boss was surprised last week when I told him they fly 752's to europe and I pulled out the duty free magazine from the seat pocket to show him. I tracked the plane the following day and it was on its way to LGW the following night.