Ireland’s EirTrade Aviation is claiming a world first, after announcing plans to disassemble two 10-year-old Boeing 787-8s over the coming three months.
“First flown commercially in 2011, the 787-8, or Dreamliner, remains Boeing’s flagship widebody aircraft and, to date, has never been retired from commercial service,” EirTrade said, announcing the contract Feb. 28. “The two 10-year-old aircraft will be disassembled simultaneously off-site, with parts expected to be available in late [first quarter] 2023.”
An EirTrade spokesperson said the aircraft serial numbers and registrations will be kept confidential until the disassembly is completed.
The work will be performed in Prestwick, Scotland, and the process is expected to take around three months. The resulting inventory will be stored at EirTrade’s aircraft disassembly facility in Knock, Ireland, until the parts are sold, leased or exchanged. Any residual materials will be recycled.
“Understandably, there has been huge interest in these aircraft,” said EirTrade hangar manager Steven Trowell, who will be managing the project. “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.”
EirTrade has been expanding its Knock-based Airbus and Boeing disassembly activities. The company offers a comprehensive range of aircraft and engine end-of-life services, including disassembly, parts storage and trading, as well as technical storage and services.
With the first 787s now approaching their 12-year checks, EirTrade is expecting some operators to be seeking used serviceable material (USM) to cut their maintenance costs.
“As no 787s have been retired from commercial service to date, there is almost no USM market for this platform at the moment,” EirTrade CEO Ken Fitzgibbon said. “We are entering into a specialist area and hope to become a market leader in the provision of USM for the platform.”
EirTrade has already been involved in other new-technology part-out work, including the first Airbus A380 aircraft to be retired and one of the early CFM56-7BE engine disassemblies.
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