Originally Posted by
WHBM
The 757 disappeared from the catalogue because, quite simply, airlines stopped buying it. Notably it had always been sold as a short haul aircraft, there were very few who used it straight from the factory for longer runs, and those (never that many) later used Transatlantic were actually hand-me-downs from domestic services.
The 737NG really killed demand for the 757. Aside from long range, a 737-900 could do most of what a 757-200 could with lower operating costs and it cost a lot less to build than a 757, so Boeing could sell it much cheaper. When the production rate of the 757 got down to 1 or 2 per month, the factory space needed became a killer - in short Boeing could make far more money by devoting that factory space to another 737 line and increasing the 737 production rate.
As far as long range, it's pretty telling that for the PW2000/757, 37k and 40k ratings were available but it was mainly the freight operators that sprung for the 40k - passenger operators staying with the 37k. When we did the Pratt powered 757-300, we offered a 43k rating but it wasn't bought - I'm not sure it was even certified. It's also rather telling that in spite of very good operating costs, no body bought the -300 aside from the launch customers.