The Boeing 757-300 is a visually striking aircraft in terms of its proportions. One of the longest single-aisle jets ever produced, it has become known by enthusiasts as the 'flying pencil.' Today, five airlines continue to operate the type, using a variety of different seating layouts. Here's a look at how exactly these carriers have configured their 757-300s.
Azur Air Ukraine
According to ch-aviation.com, five airlines presently have active examples of the 757-300 in their fleets. Starting alphabetically, Azur Air Ukraine has three of them at its disposal, with an average age of 21.2 years old. The airline is a Kyiv Boryspil-based charter specialist. Data from ch-aviation shows that Azur Air Ukraine has two seating configurations for its 757-300s.
The densest of these features 280 economy seats, with a standard pitch of 29-30 inches. The aircraft that have this layout are UR-AZN and UR-AZO. Meanwhile, UR-AZP has 265 economy seats. The standard seat pitch in this instance is a more generous 31 inches.
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Condor
Elsewhere in Europe, Condor is known for having launched the 757-300 back in 1999. It continues to operate the type today, with 12 active examples in its fleet at the time of writing. Officially, its 757-300s have 275 economy seats, with a standard 29-inch seat pitch.
However, according to SeatGuru, the first seven rows feature a blocked middle seat. With 13 places out of use in total, this brings the capacity down to 262. The rows with blocked seats are known as premium economy, but have the same pitch as the rest of the plane.
Delta Air Lines
Over in the US, Delta utilizes a three-class setup on its 16 active Boeing 757-300s. Overall, this makes for a less dense layout than Azur and Condor's 'flying pencils,' with 234 seats in total. The type features 178 standard economy seats, as well as 32 'Delta Comfort+' spaces.
These have 34 inches of pitch, compared to 30-32 in the main cabin. Finally, Delta's 757-300s have a 24-seat domestic first-class cabin with reclining seats and 37 inches of pitch.
Icelandair
Icelandair operates both passenger-carrying variants of the 757, although it only has two 757-300s at its disposal. Of these, ch-aviation's data presently lists just one as being active.
Seating onboard Icelandair's 757-300s is an even less dense affair, with the type having 216 seats according to SeatGuru. Of these, 194 are in economy class, with a standard 32-inch seat pitch. The remaining 22 are 40-inch recliners in a 2-2 layout known as Saga Class.
United Airlines
United Airlines is the fifth and final carrier that still flies the Boeing 757-300 today. It is also the largest present operator, with 17 active and four inactive examples in its fleet. Much like its US legacy counterpart Delta, United also configured the 757-300 with a three-class setup.
This consists of 158 economy (30-31 inch pitch), 50 economy plus (34-38-inch pitch), and 24 reclining first class seats. The latter of these are laid out four-abreast, a classic setup for US domestic first class cabins. It will be interesting to see how many more years of use the 757-300 gets at its remaining operators, who use it for a range of purposes.
Which of the 757-300's current seating layouts is your favorite? Have you ever flown on the type? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!