Another passenger whose not keen on the Continental 757s posted this on airliners.net:

1) There is no PTV’s on the 757’s.
2) The bins on the 757’s are smaller and will mean more passengers loosing there baggage in the holds. Don’t be last on board the 757, did it cross country last week on a UA 757!
3) On wide bodies they have the bathrooms in the centre, the 757’s are in the rear. Those drinks/meal carts will take a long time to go through. Crews are serving 6 people per row on the 757. 767 3 or 4, and the 777, 4 or 5. It takes a lot longer on a 757.
4) Being an aisle man, I would have 1 in 3 chance to get an aisle seat. the 767 is 4 in 7, and the 777 4 in 9, in economy class.
5) The 757 is not roomy, it’s a longer 737 with bigger engines and wings.

Interesting that CO have switched one flight over to a B767; maybe they accept that MAN passengers used to 767/777s will not be impressed with 757s..?

IMO the service is being condemned with good reason; realistically I can’t see the Ice 757 service working at all. (I could list 101 reasons). How likely is the a/c going to being re-fitted?. How will BMI offer a premium economy product? This reminds me of another post ref. the Euroatlantic 767 subbing for the BA 777 on LGW-TPA? Come on BMI; you have set a high standard with your transatlantic service. A good reputation is quickly lost and far harder to re-gain.

I flew Continental on MAN-EWR route in Feb 2001. Great service; B777 was deciding factor for me but I accept that most passengers are not bothered about a/c type. The B757 happens to be one of my favourite a/c but I absolutely refuse to fly on one transatlantic. The comfort factor is reduced on a single-aisle a/c for several reasons already posted. Note also that the IFE on the 757s is old style overhead screens; whereas the 767/777 have PTVs. The best a/c are probably the 767s(flew EWR-IAH on them). The 2-3-2 configuration is much better imo than the 757; no seats are more than one seat from an aisle and loading/unloading is quicker than 777.

I am always sceptical about these awards. Have all the passegners that voted for Palmair, travelled on many other airlines? If not then their options are not subjective. Additionally, I would be very suprised if the seat pitch on their B737s is bettered only by Air New Zealand. Surely the old 737-200s have 130 seats; in which case the seat pitch would be @29″ ie. No better; infact worse than many airlines.

Great report; you’ve identified 2 of my pet hates when taking early flights. They don’t open check-in or the shops/restaurants early enough. IMO check-in should be open 2 hrs before flights depart whatever the time of day.

Just been looking at schedules and would guess this to be the sectors allocated to each a/c for most days Mon-Fri/Sun from late May:

No.1

0630-1000/1030-1200 PSA
1240-1620/1650-1835 PMI
1915-2130/2155-2215 CDG

No.2

0715-0825/0855-1005 JER
1035-1345/1415-1725 FAO
1755-2200/2230-0025 AGP

No.3

0630-0735/0805-0910 DUB
0950-1245/1315-1425 PRG
1515-1910/1940-2130 ALC

which leaves

0615-0955/1025-1205 VLC to be operated by a 4th aircraft?

I’ve found a fare of £1,986 on Emirates from Glasgow. Book through http://www.traveljungle.co.uk site.

Sorry; missed that one on CVT list of destinations. Looking at the summer schedules there seem to be more flights/day from DSA than CVT. It looks like CVT will become a 3 a/c base.