Jet 2 has flown its final Boeing 757 passenger services
January 5, 2025
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. With some 100 Boeing 737s (all but seven being -800s), 16 A321s (13 of them neos) and a single A330, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind British Airways and easyJet. Jet2 is also rated as the largest tour operator in the UK having overtaken TUI in 2023.
Jet 2 operated the 757-200 on holiday routes from the UK, and had a peak of 13 757s in its fleet. The final six aircraft still in service in 2024 began to be retired in early November 2024. G-LSAC was the first of the final group of six Jet 2 aircraft to be ferried to St Athan to be parted out and scrapped. It made the journey on 5 November 2024 and was followed by G-LSAJ on 6 November. G-LSAN then flew to St Athan on 9 November. G-LSAK had been expected to retire on 28 December leaving G-LSAI and G-LSAE as the final pair. In the event, though, G-LSAE was ferried to St Athan on 2 January 2025, so that G-LSAI and G-LSAK were left to fly the final services.
G-LSAK performed her final flights, from Manchester to Antalya Airport and back on Saturday 4 January, while G-LSAI (still wearing Jet 2’s old red-tailed livery) flew from Manchester to Geneva and back on Sunday 5 January.
G-LSAK (in the new sunburst and blue tail livery), flew to St Athan on Monday 6 January, while G-LSAI followed on Wednesday 8 January.
The Boeing 757 was designed for medium-range, transcontinental flights and quickly won an enviable reputation for its efficiency, versatility, and performance. The aircraft featured an advanced, two-man cockpit with digital displays, which set a new standard for commercial airliners, while the combination of aerodynamic efficiency and powerful engines made it both economical, and able to operate from shorter runways, while it met stringent ICAO Stage 3 noise regulations, making it quieter than many of its rivals. Boeing built 1,050 between 1982 and 2004, many of which remain in use as freighters.
The type first entered service with Eastern Air Lines in 1983, and British Airways was the joint launch customer, operating they type until November 2010. The aircraft remained a common sight in the UK, with a number of UK carriers operating the type.
In the UK 757s flown by British airlines are estimated to have carried 471 million passengers in the course of 3.1 million flights, amassing 8.1 million flying hours in 42 years of service.
The 757 remains active with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Icelandair as well as with FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.
