Originally Posted by TwinAisle
Very true, at the extreme cases of range and capacity, the 757 can outperform the 737. But experience shows that airlines don't always operate their aircraft that way. I lost track of the times that I flew on a 757 from London to Brussels, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, for example. On the European routes, that was a two class cabin as well, so no where near maximum capacity, and I would bet a 737 could have done the job just as well.
Indeed... but it seems B757 is used on the short routes because of widebody competition.
Eos now flies a 757 between Stansted and New York, with light payload of 48 first class beds. Airlines might perhaps fly 757 on thin and long routes... something like London - montreal, London-Boston, JFK-Manchester etc. etc. But apparently they donīt because they prefer either to use a widebody, at least 767, or not fly the route or frequency at all.
So, on long and thin routes which are out of range for 737, 757 competes with widebodies. On shorter routes, 757 carries the extra weight of large wing, engines etc. required to support the extra range.