Comments on: Ughh: More 757s going trans-Atlantic

By: Garry

Garry — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:06:48 +0000

Actualy, I’ve found my link doesn’t work. If you go to http://www.netflights.com and search your destination to los Angeles on the 26th of september until the 7th of october and click on the US Airways flight (Theremay be more than one) you will find there is an A321 on a transatlantic rout.

By: Garry

Garry — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:03:24 +0000

I wish I could prove this to you, but I can’t remeber the dates or even the exact airports. I got this info from netflights.com, though maybe this was a mistake on the site. I don’t think an MD88 is a likely aircraft to cross the atlantic, I don’t have any other info besides netflights and I can’t find the pages. Sorry. Things like this alway happen to me, I find some information and publish it somewhere, and then I can’t find it again. However, I do have this evidence from Netflights showing a US airways A321 flying from Los Angeles to Paris with one stop, visit this link: http://www.netflights.com/flights/availability.asp. On the return jurney the ‘Aircraft’ is 321 (Airbus A321). This may be a mistake but was my sorce.

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:10:47 +0000

Garry, please post dates and flight numbers if you want to prove your assertion. There is no record of A319, A321, or MD88 flights across the Atlantic on the UA, US, or DL timetables. And there’s no evidence of a Delta flight from Atlanta to Edinburgh via Iceland, period.

I am happy to be proven wrong, if you can provide evidence.

By: Garry

Garry — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:57:48 +0000

YES THEY DO!!! I found this on netflights. I don’t know the dates but there is definately a transatlantic flight performed by a A319, AND AN A321, with US airways. The MD88 DOES SO PERFORM A TRANSATLANTIC ROUT FROM ATLANTA TO EDINBURGH with a stop in Iceland.

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:14:10 +0000

Just to fact-check this:

United Airlines does NOT operate an Airbus A319 on the London-Chicago route. There was a Lufthansa-coded all-business class flight operated by Privatair on an A319 that flew ORD-DUS, but that is no longer operating. You can see current routes that are subcontracted to Privatair here. United is currently operating three flights a day from ORD to LHR, all with 767-300s.

And Delta’s on-again off-again seasonal nonstop service on the Atlanta-Edinburgh route is on a Boeing 757, not an MD-88. The current one-stop service runs Atlanta to New York JFK on an MD-88, connecting to Edinburgh on a 757.

All that said, I’m glad you enjoyed your flight on the 757 across the Atlantic!

By: Garry

Garry — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:51:40 +0000

United Airlines Operate the Airbus A319 from London to Chicago. I’d rather go on a 757 any day. And next year, Delta AirLines will be operating the MD-88 on a transatlantic flight from Atlanta to Edinburgh. Anyway, I’ve had a transatlantic crossing on a Delta 757. This aircraft was equiped with winglets, as well as new touch-screen moniters in the seats. So I have no problem with a long flight on a 757. If you ask me, I’d rather spend a year in a 757 rather than a few hours in an A320!

By: Reader mail: Why Boeing 757s are sub-par for trans-Atlantic travel » Upgrade: Travel Better

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:26:38 +0000

[...] EF dips into the blog archives and writes: I disagree with your hatred of the Boeing 757 for international flights. It’s no different than flying from New York to [...]

By: Zach

Zach — Mon, 14 May 2007 04:01:56 +0000

Actually, a 757 takes longer to load when full than a widebody. Think about this: a 757 has 1 aisle to service 6 seats across the plane. A 767 in the old 3-3-3 configuration had 2 aisles to serve 9 seats across–roughly 4-5 seats per aisle. The 777 is similarly efficient for the loading and unloading of pax.

I fly overseas quite often (currently based in Chicago) but have until now avoided the dreaded trans-atlantic 757. Unfortunately, that will change next week when I have no choice but to take the US Airways PHL-DUB segment on a 757. It’s not the worst situation, since the flight is barely 6 hours, but I still expect a certain level of service on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights that I doubt I will receive in this case.

Unfortunately, the only nonstop ORD-DUB service is offered by Aer Lingus and was twice as expensive as US Airways.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:35:17 +0000

Hmmm, after reading this thread, maybe the non-stops on a 757 aren’t quite what the airlines promise, at least in the winter?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6986346

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:49:01 +0000

I haven never been on a transatlantic on a narrow-body aircraft (I usually fly non-stop from CA). That said, I don’t really see a narrow-body as a disadvantage. Seems to me the ratio of “isle” space to passengers would be roughly the same (yes, there’s only one isle, but there are also significantly fewer seats/passengers) on those aircraft. And I generally try to sleep on long flights, and don’t wander around much (maybe once to the lav, but that’s about it).

One major potential plus for narrow-bodies is that it takes significantly less time to board and deplane.

In short, if I had the choice between a non-stop flight between, say, Detroit and Duesseldorf on a 757, or spending a few hours in FRA to connect on a domestic flight, I’d rather take the overall significantly shorter travel time… and the reduced risk of having my luggage lost or a connection messed up.

By: James

James — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:21:08 +0000

I’ve done a transatlantic on a 757, Manchester to Vancoouver with refueling in Iceland. Long trip, not much room – also 6′3″. However, by far the worst transatlantic I’ve ever done was on a 777, Denver to Heathrow. Dreadful, managed to snag 17A (I think) – it doesn’t even have a window! No more room on any widebody of my experience, except an ancient DC10 from Paris to Caracas which was grand. Of the current crop, A330s seem to have better seats and generally seem less bad than the rest. All in all, though a coach class fare is pretty unpleasant for a tall traveller. Given the choice though, give me a widebody with 2-3-2 or 2-4-2 seats – and give me one of the 2s.

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:31:22 +0000

Chris, true, Northwest’s forthcoming transatlantic 757 service will have more pitch — up to 35 inches in coach (more than their pathetically tight domestic first class seats on some of their DC-9s, which only have 34 inches).

Northwest starts flying 757s Detroit-Brussels on May 7, 2007, Detroit-Dusseldorf on June 5, and Hartford, CT (!)-Amsterdam on July 1.
http://www.nwa.com/corpinfo/newsc/2006/pr101120061711.html

I still don’t think the 757 gives enough opportunity to move about the cabin for a long-haul flight, but more legroom is always welcome.