A steal at $1billion! Early 'overweight' Dreamliners that nobody wanted finally set to sell after price is slashed by 50%

  • Ten aircraft dubbed 'terrible teens' after early production design problems
  • After six years two buyers have come forward to snap up the Dreamliners
  • Air Austral and Ethiopian Airlines are said to be in 'advanced discussions'

Advertisement

For six years a fleet of ten Boeing 787 Dreamliners have been sitting unused and unwanted at a Boeing factory in Everett, Washington.

Now there may be hope for them as two buyers have come forward keen to buy the cut price jets.

The abandoned and half-completed aircraft have been labelled the ‘terrible teens’ after being relegated during the early stages of production after numerous structural and weight issues.

Scroll down for video 

Ten Boeing 787 Dreamliners have been sitting unused and unwanted at a Boeing factory in Washington

Ten Boeing 787 Dreamliners have been sitting unused and unwanted at a Boeing factory in Washington

According to Bloomberg, the planes have dropped in price to an estimated combined $1billion, which is about half the price of the final, lightweight 787 planes. 

Problems arose after Boeing fast-tracked production before the Dreamliner was certified airworthy. As a result the teens, which were among the earliest designs to be built, were made too heavy to fly as far as manufacturers had hoped. 

Although Boeing has never divulged the weight difference for the teens compared to catalogue models, once they are finished their range is estimated to be 6,850km, 1,850km less than later 787-8 Dreamliner models.

Workers assemble Boeing  787 Dreamliner jets at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington

Workers assemble Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington

 Air Austral CEO Marie-Joseph Male: Air Austral is said to have bought two of the overweight planes

 Air Austral CEO Marie-Joseph Male: Air Austral is said to have bought two of the overweight planes

Ten early-production 787s were dubbed the 'terrible teens' after being abandoned due to design problems

Ten early-production 787s were dubbed the 'terrible teens' after being abandoned due to design problems

The Boeing 787 passenger jetliner was introduced for the first time on Sunday, July 8, 2007

The Boeing 787 passenger jetliner was introduced for the first time on Sunday, July 8, 2007

But their rock bottom price tag is finally attracting buyers, with Air Austral and Ethiopian Airlines said to be in talks to buy the lot in attempts to cut costs amid soaring fuel prices.

Two of the jets have been ordered by Air Austral, a French airline with its headquarters at Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie on the island of Réunion.

Eight more of the heavy Dreamliners look set to go to Ethiopian Airlines which is said to be in 'advanced discussions' to buy them.

Ethiopian Airlines is currently weighing up the addition of many different jets to its fleet

Ethiopian Airlines is currently weighing up the addition of many different jets to its fleet

AllAfrica.com reports the African airline is currently weighing up the addition of many different jets to its fleet including the latest version of the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350.

The Boeing 787 ran more than three years behind schedule for problems with carbon-fibre, on-board systems and manufacturing processes to be ironed out. 

It finally launched to great fanfare in 2011, three years after the so-called jetlag-busting was supposed to go into service.

Airlines that use the jet, which is lightweight, making it more fuel-efficient for long-haul flights, include British Airways, Thomson, United, Etihad and All Nippon.

 

  

Early 'overweight' Dreamliners finally set to sell after price is slashed by 50%

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.