Most of the Boeing Co.’s remaining “Terrible Teens” are reportedly moving out.
The aerospace giant has sold six of the early-production and overweight 787 Dreamliners to Ethiopian Airlines, Bloomberg News reports.
That leaves four early-build 787s — three in Everett and one in Seattle.
Boeing has struggled to find buyers for the planes, which required extensive rework. That earned them the nickname the “Terrible Teens,” a reference to the fact they were among the first Dreamliners assembled.
The company has made headway the past couple years, though. Korean Air took delivery of the 11th Dreamliner built earlier this year.
Since rolling out of the company’s Everett plant, they have been parked nose-to-tail on Paine Field’s cross-wind runway. Several of the airplanes still have the liveries of the original intended customers, all of whom balked at taking the problem-riddled airplanes. In place of engines, massive 17,000-pound weights hang from the wings to keep the planes balanced.
Once the airplanes are off the runway, Paine Field will begin repairs to reopen it, airport officials said earlier this year.
A Boeing news release says the order will “complement the airline’s existing 13 787s currently operating in the fleet and are part of Ethiopian’s long-term strategy to increase capacity and provide greater route flexibility to and from its hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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