Ethiopian and Air Austral eyeing the 'troubled teen' Dreamliners

PICTURED: WIth counter weights balancing the stored B787s near Seattle these early "teens" could soon be in Ethiopian livery.   (Picture: Getty Images)

The aircraft are expected to be sold for around half the cost of the catalogue price of $218 million, in order to free them from the drag on Boeing’s balance sheet.
According to news agency Bloomberg, the aircraft have been dubbed “terrible teens” for their assembly struggles and their places near the start of the production run. The original customers were said to have balked because the aircraft were too heavy, limiting their range.
Eager to convert a record order backlog into cash, Boeing had stepped up production before the Dreamliner was certified as airworthy. The company ended up having to retrofit about 60 of the first jets to match design changes made during flight testing, Bloomberg said.
Work included heavy structural reinforcements to bolster their composite shells, and the early models were set aside while Boeing focused resources on later models that it could get more quickly to customers. Carriers including All Nippon Airways and Transaero Airlines eventually opted to take other aircraft.
But the lack of achieving the fill 7,850 nautical mile range is not an issue for many airlines.
Privately Boeing has said in the past that it believes there is a market for the heavier Dreamliners which will still reach more than 6500 nautical miles.
This range sits neatly within the aspirations of Ethiopian Airlines which is thought to be in final discussions to purchase eight of the early 787s.
Delays in finalizing the deal is likely to be from a late offer for special priced A330s from rival manufacturer Airbus.
Air Austral is also buying two 787-8 Dreamliners, and these too could fit neatly into the range of the troubled teens.