End of an era

The Boeing 757 was a pilots’ favourite.

Oodles of power, great handling and, for its time, well-equipped. Just over a thousand of these narrow body rocket ships were produced. Intended as a replacement for the trijet Boeing 727, the orders began in 1978, 4 years before the prototype flew on 9th February 1982.

American Air Lines would be the first to usher the type into service on 1st January 1983. A package freighter variant would join the fleet in 1987 with a combi option following a year later. 1999 saw the -300 series stretched model take to the skies before production finally ceased in 2004 at 1050 airframes in total.

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Hugely versatile with a configuration from 170 to 239, the aircraft would ply its trade on everything from transatlantic and transpacific routes to short haul shuttles and holiday charters. The US and New Zealand military would deploy the aircraft in VIP roles too.

In the UK, Jet2 would be the last operator to carry passengers.

Manufacturer Serial Number 24016, Boeing 757-21B was the 150th example produced, undertaking its first flight taking on 8th October 1987.  Delivered to CAAC Airlines as B-2803 on 9th November, the aircraft didn’t wear its socialist livery for long as, in 1988, with restructuring of Chinese civil aviation, CAAC split into six separate airlines and ‘2803’ went to the Guangzhou based – China Southern Airlines where it operated until October 2006 before the airline retired its ‘pencil’ fleet.

On 23rd November 2006 the aircraft was bought by Jet2.com and re-registered as G-LSAI.  ‘Alpha India’ had an impressive career of over 18 years with the British carrier.  On 5th of January 2025, operating LS812 from Geneva; G-LSAI completed her final commercial push back bound for Manchester, marking the end of UK passenger operations by,  what was then, the oldest 757 in service.

Her final flight bound for St. Athan, Wales, was on January 8th 2025, where airport staff and hundreds of enthusiasts had gathered to say farewell to ‘Alpha India’ as she rotated at 11:50 from runway 23 Right for one final flight.  After part out and a brief period of storage, she was scrapped on 26th March 2025 having amassed over 80 000 flight hours.

Prior to her demolition, we acquired several fuselage sections and window panes having been commissioned to produce a limited number of mementos for the aircrew. A small amount remains for passengers and enthusiasts, ensuring this iconic workhorse will live on in her retirement.