Originally Posted by
stilton
Pretty sure RR were planning an updated engine if the 757 NG had been launched
It looked like an outstanding aircraft from the proposals I saw, 767-400 cockpit, 2000 gallon fuel tank in the horizontal stabilizer, reinforced 757-300 wing and landing gear for a 275K gross weight would have yielded at least a 4500 NM range
There was a temporary slump in sales for the 757 but ending the line was the biggest mistake Boeing have made in the civilian airliner business
Slowing production to a bare minimum, like they’ve done with the 747, or just keeping the line warm would have given the market the breather it needed, the whole, long, thin concept was just starting to really take off and a NG 757 would have been very popular, I think there’d be a ‘Max’ version by now
Instead they’ve ceded this niche to Airbus and are faced with billions in development costs for a replacement when what Boeing really needs to invest in is a clean sheet 737
replacement
A
temporary slump that had already lasted five years, and had no end in sight. I saw some of the Rolls proposals (I was working 757 at the time) - their 'updated' engine was short of the CFM56-7 on fuel burn/TSFC (which had already been in service for over five years). Aside from range, the 757-200, even with the updated Rolls engines, was killed by the 737-900ER in operating costs, and as I noted previously the 737 was way cheaper to build. The only way a '757NG' made sense was as the -300, and the operators had already figured out it was simply too big for a single aisle - turn times were horrid since it takes to long to load and unload. Further, while a good aircraft, the 757 is still a 1970s design. As for the 767-400 flight deck, the plan had originally been to spread it all through the 757/767 line, but that didn't happen. A big reason why it didn't end up on the 757 is that Boeing couldn't get Rolls to do a FADEC version of the RB211-535, so they had to retain throttle cables (which was incompatible with the 767-400 flight deck).
After ending the 757 production, that factory space was dedicated to building a couple of thousand 737NGs, that were sold quite profitably - instead of building a few 757s at a loss.
For all the bitching about the MAX being a re-hash of 1960s technology - the 757NG would be a rehash of 1970s technology with the same basic fuselage as the 737.
Time will tell what the NMA will be, and if it will be successful. But one thing about the NMA I can guarantee is that it won't be 50 year old technology.