Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Short to medium haul commercial transport

Power Plant:

Two 40,100 lbst Rolls Royce RB.211-535E4 turbofans

Specifications:

History:

The Boeing 757 was designed as a short to medium haul airliner with a flight crew of two and seating from 178 (16 first class and 162 tourist class) to a maximum of 224 or 239 all-tourist class. The fuselage width was the same as the Boeing 707, 727, and 737 series, the nose and flight deck being similar to the 767, thus providing some commonality in the Boeing range for crews.

Five flight test and development aircraft were built, the first (N757A) flying for the first time on 19 February 1982. Certification was received on 28 March 1982 and deliveries to the launch operator, Eastern Airlines in the United States, commenced on 22 December 1982. First scheduled service took place on 1 January 1983, and first service with British Airways took place on 9 February, 1983.

Variants available have included the Model 757-200PF with a side cargo door in the forward fuselage for package freight and windowless interior; Model 757-200M Combi which, whilst retaining all passenger windows, had an upward opening cargo door in the forward fuselage; Model 757 EROPS for extended range operations, allowing Boeing 757s to fly up to 180 minutes from the nearest operating airport at single-engine flying speed.

Engine options have included the 37,400 lbst Rolls Royce RB.211-535C or the RB.211 E4; and the 41,700 lbst Pratt & Whitney PW2037 or PW2040 turbofans.

The 1,050th and last Boeing 757 was delivered to Shanghai Airlines of China on 27 April 2005, completing a production of 23 years. The Boeing C-32 was a variant for the US Air Force, flying for the first time on 11 February 1998, this being a military derivative of the Model 757-200 powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2000 (known as the F-117 in military service) turbofans. Four aircrft were obtained to replace the service’s C-137 (Boeing 707 series) and were configured to carry a crew of 16 with45 passengers, and were based at Andrews Air Force Base with the 89th Airlift Wing.

With an advanced technology wing, high bypass-ratio turbofans and modern avionics, the Boeing 757 was able to be operated at optimum efficiency and proved 45 percent per passenger cheaper to operate than earlier generation medium-range aircraft. A number of companies throughout the world supplied parts, and included in these was Hawker de Havilland (Australia) for wing ribs.

Boeing 757-23APF (c/n 24635 – ex 9J-AFO and N502P), owned by Ansett World Air Services, arrived in Melbourne on 1 October 1993 and was placed on the Australian register on 6 October 1993 as VH-AWE, registered to Nordstress Australia. It had previously served with a Zambian freight operator and was subsequently leased overseas, eventually being sold to DHL, but was lost in a mid-air collision with a Russian Tupolev Tu-134 over Germany in 2002.

Other 757s registered to Nordstress but which have only really visited Australia in between leases included VH-BRN (c/n 24868), a Model 757-23APF, and VH-NOF (c/n 24586), a Model 757-23A. Others have visited this region, notably during the Australian airlines pilot’s strike in 1989 when they were operated on domestic services.

In 1996 Kiwi Travel International Airlines of New Zealand commenced operating Model 757-2YO (G-OOOU) on lease from British company Air 2000 on routes between Sydney, NSW and Hamilton and Dunedin, NZ, the aircraft entering service on the route across the Tasman on 24 November 1995. Seating 232 in a single class the aircraft was part of a comprehensive co-operative agreement covering the lease of other aircraft from the same company, including Airbus A320s.

The Kiwi Travel aircraft was also used to carry out charters to the Cook Islands during December 1995 and January 1996. Four pilots, three ground engineers and four cabin crew accompanied the aircraft, with the latter four to train Kiwi flight attendants on the Boeing 757 to United Kingdom CAA standards. Kiwi had previously for a period operated a Boeing 727 on lease. However, Kiwi Travel eventually went into liquidation and the Boeing 757 returned to the United Kingdom.

Freedom Air International (a subsidiary of Mt Cook Airlines at the time) operated charter operations to Australia in 1996 with a Model 757-204ER G-BYAF (c/n 26266) leased from Brittania Airways. This airline was established to operate twice weekly charter services between Sydney and Auckland and weekly charters between Sydney and Christchurch, Sydney and Hamilton, Sydney and Wellington, and Brisbane and Hamilton. This aircraft was configured with 235 economy class seats and was crewed by Britannia pilots and cabin crew. The carrier styled itself as a fun and low-cost operator with cheap fares and basic service. The company was interested in charters to other parts of the South Pacific and the aircraft colour scheme was designed to reflect the sun, sea and surf. However, this company also closed down after operating for a short period, the Boeing 757 only operating from December 1995 to April 1996.

In later years further examples have operated in this part of the world, Air Niugini operating at least three examples on lease since 2008, including Model 757-27B TF-FIW (c/n 24838 – ex PH-AHL, D-ABNX, VP-BFA) painted in Air Niugini colours but only leased for a short time; Model 757-23N TF-TIC (c/n 30735 – ex N526AT, EI-LTY, LY-SKJ, M-ABDG); and Model 757-256 P2-ANB (c/n 29312 – ex TF-FIY),  in March 2011, obtaining this aircraft from Icelandair on wet-lease before it was replaced by a Boeing 767-300ER.

In 2004, to replace the early model Boeing 727-100s in operation with the RNZAF, the New Zealand Government obtained two Boeing 757-2K2s to serve in the same role of transporting personnel and some freight. These aircraft became NZ7571 (c/n 26633 – ex PH-TKA) and NZ7572 (c/n 26634 – ex PH-TKB), the first (NZ7571) arriving at Wellington from the US on 7 May 2003, having been painted in RNZAF colours at the BAE Systems Airbus facility at Filton in South Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom in March, crew training being conducted at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Both aircraft were built in 1993 and flew with The Netherlands based Transavia Airlines. The second aircraft arrived in June 2003. Attached to No 40 Squadron at Whenuapai, Auckland, for the first two years they were used mainly for conveying military personnel and equipment but in mid-2005 work commenced on the modification and up-grading of the two aircraft for additional cargo roles to bring them to FAA Supplementary Type Certificate standards, this including the installation of a large cargo door, the up-grading of civil and military communication, surveillance / air-traffic management capability, and the up-grade of the engines to RB.211-535-E4B standard.

Tasman Cargo Airlines leased a Model 757-236SF (c/n 24268 – G-BMRJ) in August 2010 from DHL in the United Kingdom for freight services in the Pacific region. In July 2013 it leased another Model 757-236 from European Air Transport which became VH-TCA (c/n 25620 – ex G-CSVS, OY-GRL, TF-GRL, G-CSVS, G-IEAC) operating freight services in Australia and the Pacific area. This aircraft was cancelled from the register in October 2018.

On 20 March 2018 a Model 757-225 was registered to Pacific Air Express Flight Operations of Banyo, QLD as VH-PQA² (c/n 22611 – ex N3155T, A9C-DHD, [PP-BIY], [N243AL], N315ST, PR-LGI, N315ST, G-FKNG, TF-ARE, G-OOOW, N522EA).