The twin-engine, medium-range 757 was up to 80 percent more fuel efficient than the older 727 jetliners it was designed to replace but retained the 727’s short-field capability. The 757-200 carried up to 228 passengers and had a range of approximately 3,900 nautical miles (7,222 kilometers).

The 757 and the 767 were developed concurrently, so both shared the same technological advances in propulsion, aerodynamics, avionics and materials. The pioneering two-crew computerized flight decks, or “glass cockpits,” of the 757 and 767 are nearly identical, so pilots could easily qualify to fly both.