United still has more 757-300s than any other carrier, and this is where they are flying in September.
Having entered service with Germany’s leisure airline Condor nearly a quarter of a century ago, the Boeing 757-300 is still going strong. This includes with United, which has 21 of the 55 aircraft built – more than any other airline. Its example average 21.1 years old.
United’s 21 757-300s
When writing on September 8th, all but one of United’s 757-300s are active. The sole exception is N74856. According to Flightradar24, this 19.7-year-old aircraft last flew on August 18th, when it operated UA3883 from the carrier’s hub at Chicago O’Hare – the world’s second-busiest airport by July flights – to Pensacola, presumably for maintenance reasons.
Inherited from Continental, the large 757 variant is a so-called middle-of-the-market aircraft. It is well known for its high capacity and low unit cost rather than range and is a pretty economical sub-fleet, even though it is old technology now.
In 2018, United increased the number of seats to 234. Of course, this reduced seat-mile costs further while increasing revenue generation opportunities. It became an even more competitive variant, further dictating where they were used.
21 routes in September, all domestic
It is not surprising that United’s 757-300s are mainly used on pretty high-density routes in September. Most are hub-to-hub routes, but some are leisure-focused to Orlando. Based on Cirium data, the following map illustrates where they are flying this month. There are no flights from Newark, its busiest hub. Cirium informs that has not had regular 757-300 flights there since 2016.
Top five routes
United has around 328 weekly 757-300 roundtrip flights in September, with the top routes (all hub-to-hub) shown below. Across the 21 routes, the variant has more flights from Chicago O’Hare than any other airport. This is not surprising given the table below:
| Route and direction | Number of 757-300 flights*: September | Is the 757-300 the most-used equipment in September? | Find flights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles to Chicago O’Hare | 28 weekly | Yes | Click here |
| San Francisco to Chicago O’Hare | 24 weekly | Yes | Click here |
| Chicago O’Hare to Denver | 21 weekly | No (737-900 is) | Click here |
| Denver to San Francisco | 17 weekly | No (737-900 is) | Click here |
| Washington Dulles to San Francisco | 15 weekly | Yes | Click here |
| * In this specified direction; may vary in the reverse |
While it is the leading equipment between Los Angeles and Chicago O’Hare, the 737 MAX 9, 787-10, 737-900, 737 MAX 8, 737-800, and 777-200 are also used this month. Notice the two widebodies; US domestic widebody flights remain well above the pre-pandemic level, and United is the biggest operator..
Source https://simpleflying.com/5-airports-where-you-can-get-a-shower/
