Originally Posted by
artee
I think I remember forgetting this before... but as it appears that some of the problems with the 737 Max 8 seem to stem from overextending/overevolving an old-ish plane with short legs, why didn't Boeing develop the 757 instead. More modern plane, longer legs (taller u/c) etc?
Genuine question.
The 757 would not be cost competitive. It was built with performance in mind. To this day there is nothing available with the same runway and range ability. Need to takeoff on a 30C day with 5700 foot runway an fly 2000 miles with a full load of 199 people the 757 is the only game in town. That performance comes at a substantial cost. If the runway is 8000 feet long newer aircraft can do the mission for ⅔ the seat mile cost.