"This is an exciting new chapter in our history as, for the first time, we will be flying directly between continental Europe and the US, " British Airways' chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement on the BA.com Web site.

CNN: British Airways subsidiary launches transatlantic service

But once the FAA in the early 1990s granted airline operators permission to use it on over-water routes, carriers including American, Northwest, US Airways and Continental found the 757 a fuel-effective way to serve cities in Western Europe that had previously been reached with larger, more costly wide-body planes that consume more fuel but have greater range.

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