First 787s to be scrapped

[DeejRC]

I signed off the first flight of a certain configuration of the 787 as my last act for a certain company end of November 2009.
Time flies.

[BOH]

I suspect supply chain issues with spare parts has a lot to do with these airframes being parted-down.

[bobthemonkey]

Someone on here will know the finer detail - but the early aircraft off the line had various degrees on bespoke manual rework after construction to bring them up to certifiable standards. This meant - amongst other things - the aircraft were heavier and therefore less economical than advertised.

While it’s not unusual for aircraft to get lighter and more efficient as production evolves - or for some offline rework, the extend on the 787 programme has highly unusual, both in terms of the amount of work per airframe and the number of airframes sent for rework.

Some of the worst offenders - the “terrible teens” - hung around for a very long term waiting to be sold, at up to 80% off list price.

[LotusOmega375D]

I remember Air India was an early 787 adopter, but no sooner had they taken delivery, than they had to ground them all due to those reported lithium ion battery fire issues. Those aircraft sat around gathering dust for months.

[Brother D]

aeropilot said:

Brother D said:

How are these are getting chopped when I flew on a BA 747 out of Arizona which must have been 200 years old? (I'm never flying BA out of AZ again).

BA retired all its remaining 747's almost 3 years ago....!!

Jeez I didn't think it was three years ago... Thank goodness they've binned them going on my experience...

[robm3]

There must be some good money in Aircraft spares.

Slightly O/T but I recall an interview in F1 with team owner Paul Stoddart (?). He was showing the camera crew around a massive spare part warehouse and said it basically paid for his F1 Endeavours. He also had a cool Business Class chair combined with a motorised scooter so he could drive it around and relax.

Where there's muck there's brass maybe true I guess.