First Boeing 787s to be retired and stripped for spares

A pair of early-build Boeing 787s are to be retired from commercial service and dismantled for spare parts.

The ten-year-old 787-8s – registrations of which are currently unknown – will be disassembled at Glasgow/Prestwick with parts expected to become available from the end of this month.

The Dreamliner duo are the first examples to be permanently withdrawn from airline operations since the type first entered service in 2011.

The registrations of the aircraft set to be scrapped are currently not known.
The registrations of the aircraft set to be scrapped are currently not known. Aviation Image Network/Simon Gregory

Dublin-based aviation asset management and trading company EirTrade Aviation is handling the disassembly and consignment of the jets.

Ken Fitzgibbon, the company’s CEO, says the disassembly of these aircraft could not have come at a better time as early 787s in the global fleet approach their 12-year check: “As no 787s have been retired from commercial service to date, there is almost no USM [used serviceable material] market for this platform at the moment.

“We are entering into a specialist area and hope to become a market leader in the provision of USM for the platform which will enable the reduction of the cost of maintenance events for 787 aircraft owners.”

All Nippon Airways was the launch customer for the Boeing 787. It began operations with the next-generation widebody on October 26, 2011.
All Nippon Airways was the launch customer for the Boeing 787. It began operations with the next-generation widebody on October 26, 2011. Aviation Image Network/Bailey

The disassembly process will be coordinated by Steven Trowell, hangar manager for EirTrade. He forecasts that the disassembly process will take around three months in total: “Understandably, there has been huge interest in these aircraft,” he says. “There will, of course be challenges along the way and were the disassembly taking place at our own facility in Knock, it would have afforded us a greater degree of flexibility in terms of manpower, tooling, and logistics. However, any potential disruption to the schedule will be kept to a bare minimum and we are privileged to be given the opportunity of disassembling the first 787-8s.”

Following completion of the teardown, the Irish firm will manage the inventory of assets with the view to sell, lease or exchange material removed from both aircraft. These will be stored at one of the company’s facilities in Ireland.