With significant differences in their capabilities, the widebody 747 and narrowbody 757 were developed to serve different types of markets. They embarked on their first commercial flights in 1969 and 1983 respectively.
The 757’s production run ended in 2005, and whilst many 757s have now been retired, significant numbers are still operated by airlines such as Delta and the cargo operator FedEx. The 747’s production run began more than a decade before the 757 came on the scene, but outlasted the 757 by another 18 years.
In this article, I’ll compare these two aircraft from a number of different perspectives such as dimensions, operating range, seating capacity, and deliveries.
History
The 757 was developed by Boeing in tandem with its counterpart 767 (see how the two compare in this article), and both aircraft were revolutionary at the time as they featured new ‘glass’ cockpits that were designed for two flight crew. The 757 first began flying commercially in January 1983, but is no longer in production, with the last 757 rolling off Boeing’s Renton production line in November 2005.
The 757 was produced in only two main variants – the 757-200 and the 757-300. The 757-200 was later developed into freighter and convertible models. Boeing originally had plans to develop a smaller 757 variant, the 757-100 but dropped this idea due to a lack of airline interest.
Significant customers for the 757 included major US airlines, European charter airlines, and cargo companies. The 757 is well suited to short- and mid-range services and transcontinental US routes. In 1986, the 757 was approved to fly ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards) operations allowing it to be deployed on intercontinental routes.
The 747 was conceived as air travel began to become more popular in the 1960s, and at this time Pan Am’s President had asked Boeing to design a new passenger jet 2.5 times the size of current aircraft such as Boeing’s 707, with 30% lower per passenger costs.
Boeing began its 747 studies in 1965, and asked Pan Am and other airlines to contribute so that airline requirements and objectives could be better understood. By April 1966, Pan Am had ordered 25 of the original 747 variant, the 747-100. As Boeing did not have a manufacturing plant large enough to assemble this new giant airliner, they chose to build a brand new plant at Everett, around 50km north of Seattle on a 320-ha site adjoining Paine Airfield military base. Boeing bought the site in June 1966.
Boeing agreed to deliver the first 747 to Pan Am by the end of 1969. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the Everett assembly building before the world’s press and representatives of the twenty-six airlines that had already placed orders. The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and was followed by an exhaustive flight test program.
The 747 received its FAA airworthiness certificate in December 1969, and the first 747 was delivered to Pan Am on time in December 1969. It entered service on January 22, 1970, on Pan Am’s flagship New York–London route. Soon after demand was growing for longer-range aircraft with increased capacity, leading to the development of the 747-200.
After that, several other 747 variants including the most successful 747-400 were introduced. The last one of those – 747-8 – was announced in November 2005. It incorporated innovative technologies from the 787 Dreamliner, including GEnx-2B engines, raked wingtips, a reduced noise footprint, reduced carbon emissions, lower weight, less fuel consumption, fewer parts, and less maintenance.
The 747-8F made its maiden flight in February 2010 and the first delivery went to Cargolux in 2011. The first 747-8I took its maiden flight in March 2011 and the first customer delivery was in February 2012. The last 747-8, a freighter, was delivered to Atlas Air in 2023.
Dimensions
Let’s take a look at some key physical characteristics and see how the passenger versions of these two aircraft measure up against each other:
| Aircraft Model | Length/ m | Wingspan/ m | Fuselage Width/ m | Height/m | MTOW/ tonnes |
| 747-SP | 56.3 | 59.6 | 6.5 | 19.9 | 315.7 |
| 747-100 | 70.7 | 19.3 | 340.2 | ||
| 747-200 | 377.8 | ||||
| 747-300 | 377.8 | ||||
| 747-400 | 64.4 | 19.5 | 412.8 | ||
| 747-8 | 76.3 | 68.4 | 19.4 | 447.7 | |
| 757-200 | 47.3 | 38.0* | 3.8 | 13.7 | 115.7 |
| 757-300 | 54.4 | 13.6 | 123.8 |
*Some 757s were fitted with winglets, extending the total wingspan by around 3m.
As you would expect, the widebody 747 is longer, wider, and heavier compared to its narrowbody 757 counterpart.
The FAA classifies aircraft by size based on wingspan into one of six categories (I to VI). All 757 variants fit into FAA IV for aircraft with wingspans ranging from 36m up to 52m. Until the development of the 747-8, the 747 was FAA V for aircraft with wingspans ranging from 52m up to 65m. The 747-8, with its 68.4m wingspan, has been moved into the larger FAA VI category (the same category as the A380) for aircraft with wingspans between 65m and up to 80m.
Range
The 757 variants have ranges of up to 7,100km:
| Aircraft Model | Range |
| 757-200 | 3,850nm (7,130km) |
| 757-300 | 3,395nm (6,288km) |
The 757 was originally targeted at hub and point-to-point carriers operating short- to mid-range transcontinental routes. That said, its later ETOPS certification allowed it to operate intercontinental routes, including transatlantic routes, boosting sales.
The evolution of the 747 has generally seen increases in range as each variant has been rolled out. Ranges approaching 8,000nm, as seen in the more recent variants of these aircraft, allow an increasing number of new ultra-long-haul city pairs to be connected.
The B747-8I’s range is 7,730nmi (14,320km), similar to the 787-9 (read this article to see how the two types compare in detail). It allows the aircraft to fly non-stop long-distance routes such as London – Santiago, London – Jakarta, New York – Cape Town, Beijing – New York, Singapore – Seattle, and Dubai – Sydney.
| Aircraft Model | Range |
| 747-SP | 5,830nm (10,800km) |
| 747-100 | 4,620nm (8,560km) |
| 747-200 | 5,600nm (10,370km) |
| 747-300 | 6,330nm (11,720km) |
| 747-400 | 7,260nm (13,450km) |
| 747-400ER | 7,670nm (14,205km) |
| 747-8 | 7,730nm (14,310km) |
Seat Capacity and Cabin Layout
The 757 typically carries anywhere between 180 and 260 passengers in standard 2-class cabin configurations.
Airlines have fitted out these aircraft in 1-class, 2-class, 3-class, and even 4-class configurations, and actual seat numbers vary greatly depending on the number of classes, the proportion of the cabin dedicated to premium cabins, and whether flatbed seats are installed in the premium cabins.
For actual seat numbers, I looked at how Delta Airlines has configured its 757 cabins. Delta operates both 757-200s and 757-300s, all with 3 cabin classes. Delta’s 757 total seat numbers range from 168 to 199, with the lower number being for its 757-200 cabins that include a ‘Delta One’ first-class cabin with lie-flat seats. Delta’s 757-300s do not have the ‘Delta One’ cabin and have 234 seats.
The 757 interior allows cabin configurations of up to six seats per row in economy class with a single central aisle. Where business class is fitted, the seating configuration is typically 2-2, including cabins with lie-flat seats.
The widebody 747 clearly has a much higher seating capacity than the 757. For this comparison, I have looked into the 747-8I. Boeing indicates that the 747-8I’s three-class seating capacity is 410 passengers. I investigated three current 747-8I operators and found the following:
- Air China: 4 classes with a total of 365 seats (12-54-66-233)
- Korean Air: 3 classes with a total of 368 seats (6-48-0-314)
- Lufthansa: 4 classes with a total of 364 seats (8-80-32-244)
All current 747-8I operators with a first class cabin have located that cabin on the main deck. The upper deck is always used for business class seating and the seating configuration is single aisle 2-2. Where business class is also located on the full-width part of the main deck the seating configuration is twin-aisle 2-2-2.
Air China’s main deck business class cabin extends into the aircraft nose where the seating configuration becomes 2-2. Air China’s premium economy cabin on the main deck adopts a ten-abreast seating configuration 3-4-3, the same as its economy cabin, although the seat pitch is more generous in the premium economy cabin.
Lufthansa’s premium economy cabin features eight-abreast seating (2-4-2) whilst the economy cabin has ten-abreast seating (3-4-3).
Customers and Orders
Boeing received a total of 1,217 orders for the 757 (all variants) but delivered only 1,049 aircraft (86% of all orders). Customers which placed orders and then later canceled some options included Delta Air Lines/Northwest, American Airlines, United Airlines, GPA Group, US Airways, Air Europe, and America West.
The vast majority of the 757 deliveries (95%) were for the 757-200 variants. The 757-300 was not particularly successful. Only 55 aircraft were built and delivered. Whilst the increased size of the 757-300, compared to the 757-200, offered higher seating capacity, it also led to a reduced range.
Airline customers that ordered the 757 were spread worldwide. That said, it was the large USA carriers such as Delta, United Airlines, and American Airlines that placed the biggest orders as the 757 offered the flexibility to operate on US domestic routes and, following its ETOPS certification, was also able to fly on transatlantic and other inter-continental services.
The largest European operator of the 757 was British Airways. Of the B757 aircraft remaining in service today, Delta and American Airlines are by far the largest operators.
The 747 is no longer in production but during its long production run of over five decades, Boeing delivered 1,574 747s. The most popular 747 series has been the 747-400, of which there were 694 deliveries, including, passenger, combi, and freight versions, or 44% of the total 747 deliveries.
Approximately two-thirds of 747 orders have been for passenger versions and one-third for freighter and combi versions.
The top 747 customer was Japan Airlines which received a total of 108 aircraft, followed by British Airways which received 94 aircraft, and Singapore Airlines with 93 747s. United Airlines was the top US 747 customer with 68 deliveries.
Boeing 747 vs. 757: Summary
The 747 and 757 are quite different aircraft physically. The 757 is smaller in all respects compared to the 747, and all variants of the 747 have longer ranges than the 757 variants.
Both the 757 and the 747 are no longer in production, however, the 747’s production run was much longer than that of the 757, beginning before, and ending after the 757’s production run. Despite this, the 757 has done reasonably in commercial terms with 1,049 deliveries during the 22-year period from late 1982 to spring 2005. There were 1,574 747 deliveries over the 53-year period from late 1969 to early-2023.
Whilst the 757 and the 747s remain in service today and can be seen in reasonable numbers, it’s fair to say that both are past their heydays as they have become superseded by more technologically advanced or more fuel-efficient aircraft such as the 787 and A350.
