Transatlantic on 757-200 AA (Bus. class)

[fretn]

Hi everybody!

First of all i'm new to this forum, but have been a flying enthousiast for quite some years and I have flown on some major carriers (Emirates, Malaysian, Gulf, Qatar, ...).

Now my question!
In the autumn holidays me and my family are going to the US (NY + Miami) with AA (AmericanAirlines) on a 757-200.
That seems an odd choice to me since i've never flown outside europe + north africa on a narrowbody. Is this common? And I would like to experience business class after quite some time flying on economy, i just want to know the experience. But as a student (UGent) i can't afford a full fare J-ticket. So I was thinking to maybe buy a promotion at the airport? Is this possible and where would be the best place to do so (it's on AA).
and what would be the option, buy it for a domestic flight? or the transatlantic? and where would it be cheaper, the US or here in Belgium?

Thanks alot in advance!

[Conti764]

Hi everybody!

First of all i'm new to this forum, but have been a flying enthousiast for quite some years and I have flown on some major carriers (Emirates, Malaysian, Gulf, Qatar, ...).

Now my question!
In the autumn holidays me and my family are going to the US (NY + Miami) with AA (AmericanAirlines) on a 757-200.
That seems an odd choice to me since i've never flown outside europe + north africa on a narrowbody. Is this common? And I would like to experience business class after quite some time flying on economy, i just want to know the experience. But as a student (UGent) i can't afford a full fare J-ticket. So I was thinking to maybe buy a promotion at the airport? Is this possible and where would be the best place to do so (it's on AA).
and what would be the option, buy it for a domestic flight? or the transatlantic? and where would it be cheaper, the US or here in Belgium?

Thanks alot in advance!

Alot of companies are flying the 752 accros the pond. In fact, if airlines saw the frames potential a little sooner, I'm sure Boeing would still be making them. It seems tailor made for transatlantic, thin routes (DL and US both fly the 752 to BRU, as does CO every once and a while and did NW when they shortly returned to BRU).

Continentel actually was the first to introduce the 752 on a large scale to Europe, followed by other airlines. This way they can serve smaller markets (or well served markets like BRU-NYC) as efficient as possible.

Now, being a narrowbody isn't actually harming the 752. It seems more cramped then a widebody, but it's not that big an issue, it's mostly the double aisle that creates a spacious feeling in widebodies, as far as seat room matters, the difference is not that big. CO even has AVOD in their 752 and not (yet) in their 76X fleet.

[Bralo20]

But as a student (UGent) i can't afford a full fare J-ticket. So I was thinking to maybe buy a promotion at the airport? Is this possible and where would be the best place to do so (it's on AA).
and what would be the option, buy it for a domestic flight? or the transatlantic? and where would it be cheaper, the US or here in Belgium?

Thanks alot in advance!

AA has just at this moment a promotion. A return business ticket BRU - NYC for "only" 1.499 EUR all included.

[sab319]

the 757's AA will use on the Brussels - New York rotation are currently being redone with a complete new interior including new seats and AVOD PTV's, so it will most likely be more comfortable than some of the current 763's. Sometimes an upgrade offer for Business Class is sold at check-in, but since this is only decided the day of departure it's not something to count on.

[concordino]

@ conti 764

Were Continental the first across the Atlantic with 757's?
I recall American used to go into Manchester in the mid 1990's and perhaps into Glasgow and Edinburgh as well. I would suspect that there have been charter operators doing so too as I seem to remember Monarch 75's going to Florida with a tech stop in Gander pretty much as soon as they received them.

It is all pretty academic as narrow-bodies have been crossing the Oceans for decades in the form of the B707 and the DC-8( the long ones were known as "tubes" in the 60's and 70's!). It is just what one gets used to.

C

[Conti764]

@ conti 764

Were Continental the first across the Atlantic with 757's?
I recall American used to go into Manchester in the mid 1990's and perhaps into Glasgow and Edinburgh as well. I would suspect that there have been charter operators doing so too as I seem to remember Monarch 75's going to Florida with a tech stop in Gander pretty much as soon as they received them.

It is all pretty academic as narrow-bodies have been crossing the Oceans for decades in the form of the B707 and the DC-8( the long ones were known as "tubes" in the 60's and 70's!). It is just what one gets used to.

C

No, CO wasn't the very first one to use the 757 across the pond, but they were the first one to deploy them to Europe on a large scale thus opening new routes which were impossible to operate with widebodies, that's why CO is known for their widespread European network.

[sn26567]

Remember that in the sixties and seventies the B707 and the DC8 were also narrow bodies, and there was no other choice!

[Conti764]

Remember that in the sixties and seventies the B707 and the DC8 were also narrow bodies, and there was no other choice!

Yes, but those days were totally different from now, since there were no widebodies. Back then the difference was made between jets and props, those jets were not the least efficient, in comparison with today and carried much less passengers and cargo(thus lowering the overall weight of the plane).

Nowadays, it's common to sent widebodies for long haul and it is only recently that companies discovered the great advantages of a transcon 757-200WL. If they would have found out earlier Boeing would probably still be making the 752. Here lies a great opportunity for Airbus. If they could find a way to enhance the range with 2000-2500 NM the plane would sell like hot cakes.

After edit: I have made a mistake with the range of the A321. I thought it had 5.000 NM, but it only has 3.000 NM, so I guess a range like the 757-200WL (7.500 NM) is out of the question for the A321.