Cargo Carriers Which Fly the Boeing 757

Building on the success of the 757 and looking to tailor the new aircraft model to suit the needs of as many airlines as possible, Boeing took the natural step to turn the aircraft into a freigher.

Initial Boeing 757 Freighter

Boeing 757-24APF N461UP of UPS. (Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Three years after the Boeing 757 had entered into passenger-carrying service with Eastern Air Lines at the beginning of January 1983, Boeing announced that it was developing a freighter version of the type, designated the 757-200PF (Package Freighter).

Only eighty aircraft were built, with United Parcel Service (UPS) being the main customer, taking delivery of seventy-five 757-200APFs. The first aircraft was delivered in October 1987.

Many of these aircraft remain in service today but have been upgraded including a flight deck modernisation which involves the replacement of six CRT displays and some analogue instruments with three large format LCD screens, forming a Large Display System.

Boeing 757M

Only one 757-200M Convertible or ‘Combi’ freighter was built and delivered to Royal Nepal Airlines in September 1988, registered 9N-ACB. (Toby Lam, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

The only other factory-built freighter version of the 757 was the Boeing 757-200M (sometimes referred to as the 757-200C). This was a convertible or ‘Combi’ model but it received little interest from freight operators and only one aircraft was built for Royal Nepal Airlines.

Converted 757 Freighters

Boeing 757-223 (PCF) EC-NIU of Swiftair. (Recoil16, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Over 320 Boeing 757s that have been used in the freighter role are former passenger-carrying aircraft which have been converted to either Combi or freighter variants, through a so-called P2F conversion.

A number of engineering companies have completed these conversions, including Boeing, and they have resulted in different aircraft configurations, each issued with a Supplementary Type Certificate.

Boeing 757-2G5 (PCC) N752CX of Air Transport International. (André Inácio)

Designations include: 757-200(C), 757-200(PCC), 757-200(SF) (Special Freighter), 757-200ASF and 757-200(PCF). Further details of the freighter variants can be found here <link to article on 757 variants to be added here>

Which Cargo Airlines Fly Boeing 757?

Boeing 757-28A (SF) N913FD of FedEx. (Lars Steffens, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

There are approximately 318 Boeing 757 freighters in active service with cargo carriers at the present day (as of 1 March 2024).

Operators and the number/type of 757 freighters in use include:

AeroGeoSky (1): 757-200(SF)

Air Transport International (4): 3x 757-200(C) and 1x 757-200(PCC)

Amerijet International Airlines (3): All 757-200(PCF)

Asia Pacific Airlines (3): All 757-200(PCF)

Aviastar-TU Airlines (5):  All 757-200(PCF)

Boeing 757-25F9 (SF) VT-BDA of Blue Dart Aviation. (Venkat Mangudi, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Blue Dart Aviation (6):  1x 757-200(SF) and 5x 757-200(PCF)

Cargojet Airways (16):  All 757-200(PCF)

China Air Cargo (1): 757-200(PCF)

Boeing 757-2Y0 (PCF) B-2827 of China Postal Airlines. (周逸飞, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

China Postal Airlines (6): All 757-200(PCF)

Boeing 757-236 (PCF) EC-KLD of Cygnus Air. (Anna Zvereva, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Cygnus Air (5): All 757-200(PCF)

DHL Group (36):  29x 757-200(PCF), 6x 757-200(SF) and 1x 757-200APF

FedEx Express (96): All 757-200(SF)

Boeing 757-23APF TF-FIG of Icelandair. (Aldo Bidini)

Icelandair (1): 757-200(APF)

North-Western Cargo (4): All 757-200(PCF)

Samaritan’s Purse (1): 757-200(PCF)

Boeing 757-2Z0 (PCF) B-2845 of SF Airlines. (Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

SF Airlines (43):  All 757-200(PCF)

Swiftair (3): 2x 757-200(PCF) and 1x 757-200APF

UPS (74): All 757-200APF

Boeing 757-28S (PCF) B-2859 of YTO Cargo Airlines. (Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

YTO Cargo Airlines (10): All 757-200(PCF)

Boeing 757 Timelines

The new book Boeing 757 Timelines, by Nigel Richardson, is out now!

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This is a full-colour, hardback book packed full of pictures of the 757 in action!

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