The
Boeing 757 is arguably one of Boeing’s most loved jets—especially by the pilots who fly it
. As a mid-sized aircraft, the Boeing 757
can handle transatlantic routes to many far-western European destinations.
Three airlines offer transatlantic routes with Boeing 757s
(United, Icelandair, and Delta Air Lines). Icelandair connects the US with Iceland and not directly with mainland Europe – although there are connecting flights to Europe (while Iceland is in the mid-Atlantic, it is also considered Europe).
Icelandair
Icelandair
has a fleet of 13 Boeing 757-300s
and 2 Boeing 757-200s
– although these are soon to retire as Icelandair takes delivery of Airbus A321LRs and A321XLRs (
Icelandair has revealed the first Airbus A321LR painted in its livery
ahead of its delivery). But before then, Icelandair operated the busiest US-European route in September 2024.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
The busiest European Boeing 757 route in September was from Seattle to Keflavik Airport at Reykjavík (the main hub for Icelandair and international travel in Iceland). This route is served by a rare Icelandair Boeing 757-200 and had 66 operations for September, carrying 12,079 seats. The second-busiest Icelandair route (and third-busiest overall) was from Denver to Reykjavík, with 34 operations and 6,228 seats.
Additionally, Icelandair operated the 12th (Oregon’s Portland to Reykjavík with 4,577 seats), 18th (Newark to Reykjavík with 4,500 seats), and 20th (Chicago to Reykjavík with 1,575 seats) busiest European-bound Boeing 757 routes in September.
United Airlines
While Icelandair claims the first and third-busiest routes, 
United Airlines
otherwise dominates the busiest Boeing 757 routes to Europe. Besides the Icelandair routes listed above, all of the top 20 busiest routes are United (except for a Delta route that comes in 17th place).
The five busiest United routes are Newark to Scotland’s Edinburgh (54 flights and 9,504 seats), Chicago to Dublin (30 flights and 5,280 seats), Washington Dulles to Scotland’s Edinburgh (30 flights and 5,280 seats), Newark to Ireland’s Shannon Airport (30 flights and 5,280 seats), and Newark to Dublin (30 flights and 5,280 seats).
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Most of United’s European destinations served by Boeing 757s originate from its major base of Newark International Airport or from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (another large United hub). While the 757 has the range to cross the Atlantic, it tends to be used on routes closer to the US (especially Iceland and Ireland).
Delta Air Lines
Delta’s flight from Detroit to Iceland’s Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport is the only transatlantic 
Delta Air Lines
flight in the top twenty list. Delta uses a Boeing 757-200, and it saw 22 flights carrying a total of 4,246 seats in September, making it the 17th busiest flight.
Photo: Andrew Mauro | Shutterstock
With 126 Boeing 757s still in service, Delta is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 757. United has the world’s second-largest passenger fleet of Boeing 757s (61 aircraft). Icelandair has the third-largest passenger 757 fleet. Other major fleets of Boeing 757 aircraft still operating are used for cargo (FedEx and UPS have especially large fleets).