Having spent time analyzing the world's oldest active Airbus A350s and oldest active Boeing 747s, it is now the turn of the Boeing 757. While we might think of the twinjet as a rare aircraft nowadays, ch-aviation.com shows that 515 of the 1,050 examples produced are still active today! But which are the most senior?

The oldest active Boeing 757s have interesting roles

Incredibly, the first Boeing 757 to roll off the assembly line, N757A, is still in operation. Despite clocking in at a ripe old age of 41.48 years at the time of writing, Boeing retains the aircraft as a testbed. According to The Aviationist, this aircraft is used to test fighter jet avionics and sensors. As such, if you see the plane, you'll notice it has a few extra accessories compared to a traditional 757.

Funnily enough, the second-oldest active Boeing 757 is the second example ever built. While not used as a testbed, the 41.38-year-old N144DC still serves a rather exciting and unusual role, with ch-aviation.com showing that Starflite International operates the ex-Eastern Air Lines jet for none other than the CIA!

Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here!

Third on the list is Honeywell Aviation Services' N757HW, which was one of the first Boeing 757-200s ever built, with a serial number of five. As pictured above, this ex-Eastern Air Lines and MyTravel Airways aircraft also looks different from other 757s due to being a testbed for innovative technology from the aviation industry.

Veteran freighters

These three aircraft aside, the oldest active Boeing 757s are generally found in the airfreight sector. This is because, as Simple Flying explored in a 2020 article, cargo airlines have more of a tendency to fly older planes. Presently, the oldest active Boeing 757 freighter is a 757-200SF that flies for FedEx Express.

Registered as N935FD, this veteran aircraft is 40.45 years old and was just the 15th Boeing 757 ever built. It spent the first 25 years of its life flying passengers for UK carrier Monarch Airlines before being converted to carry cargo. Another veteran 757-200SF that serves FedEx Express is the 38.45-year-old N936FD.

Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today!

Wedged between these two FedEx Express jets in terms of age is 5Y-SHJ, a 38.73-year-old Boeing 757-200PCF that flies for Kenyan cargo carrier Astral Aviation. This aircraft started as a passenger aircraft and served Delta Air Lines from 1984 to 2008 before its conversion. FlightRadar24.com shows that it generally flies within Africa, but a recent trip took it to Tel Aviv, Israel.

What about passenger-carrying examples?

While the aircraft we have examined so far are undoubtedly interesting, they are also not the sort of aircraft that everyday passengers can fly on. Apart from a 37.17-year-old VIP 757-200 operated by Berkut for the Government of Kazakhstan (UP-B5701), the oldest active 757 that falls under this category serves Jet2.

Registered as G-LSAI, this 35.85-year-old Boeing 757-200 joined the UK leisure carrier in 2006, having spent its first 19 years at China Southern Airlines. Based at Manchester Airport (MAN), the 235-seat all-economy twinjet is still going strong, transporting holidaymakers to destinations in Greece, Spain, and Turkey.

What are your earliest memories of the Boeing 757? Do you like the aircraft? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Sources: ch-aviation.com, FlightRadar24.com, The Aviationist

• 

  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker