Boeing 757 Delta Ship 608
Service
Ship 608, is a Boeing 757-200 built in 1985 with Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines. From 1985 to 2013, the aircraft flew domestic routes for Delta, including service with Song Airlines, Delta's innovative low-cost carrier, from October 2005 to May 2006. Ship 608 retired from service on October 1, 2013, and was stored at the Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona. She came out of storage and joined the Delta Flight Museum on April 27, 2014. Today, Ship 608 is part of the retired Delta fleet parked by the Museum Gate that welcomes our visitors.
Farther and Faster on Less Fuel
The Boeing 757-200 sported "new technology wing and engines to give the best fuel mileage of any standard-body airliner" in 1982. On a 500-mile flight, the 757-200 provided approximately 45 percent better fuel efficiency than the Boeing 727 it replaced in the Delta fleet. With its new wing design, fitted with double-slotted trailing flaps, full-span leading edge slats and high thrust engines, the 757 could cruise at a higher altitude than the advanced 727-200, allowing greater fuel savings and use of higher airways.
Delta was launch customer for the Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engine, used on Ship 608, which provided 10 percent more fuel efficiency than earlier Pratt & Whitney JT10D engines offered on the 757. Note: The 757 was initially launched with Rolls Royce engines.
Song's 757s
Delta's innovative low-cost carrier Song, which operated from 2003-2006, flew a fleet of specially-configured Boeing 757-200s. The entire cabin was one class with leather seats and a free personal entertainment system at every seat. At the height of its operations in 2005, Song flew 48 Boeing 757-200s to 16 locations. The airline operated over 200 flights at day.
Paint Schemes
In 2014 before its arrival at the Delta Flight Museum, Ship 608 was painted in its original 1985 livery, which was Delta's longest-worn paint scheme, the "Classic Widget" livery, standard for Delta's fleet from 1968 to 1997.
Ship 608 wore four different Delta liveries during its service from 1985 to 2013, including Song Airlines green-and-white paint from 2005-2007. The other Delta liveries worn were the Classic Widget livery from 1985-2000, Delta's Colors in Motion livery from 2000-2005, and Delta's Onward and Upward livery introduced in 2007.
More Information
Museum Blog: See photos of Ship 608 and DC-9-51 Ship 9880 arriving home at the Delta Flight Museum on April 27, 2014.
Flickr: See photos of Ship 608 in various liveries.