The Terrific Twins - Boeing 757 & 767

Following the hugely successful 727 tri-jet, Boeing had been working on bringing both a single aisle and twin aisle "wide body jet" to the market.

When the 767 was launched in 1982, followed by the 757 a short time later, they were widely heralded as a revelation. Step change fuel economy, excellent performance, radically improved passenger comfort and a revolutionary "glass" 2 crew flight deck combined with type commonality were leading edge and provided a huge economical benefit for airlines. The 767 freighter guise is still in production today. The 757 "flying pencil" was a "late bloomer" with airlines only realizing its potential after production ceased in 2004. Almost 600 are still in service, and the aircraft makes profits over short and long routes with surprisingly modest passenger load factors. There is still no clear successor even today.

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