What happened to the 787 “Terrible Teens”?

The 787 Terrible Teens at Everett Paine Field

When the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was developed in the late 2000s, the early production aircraft underwent a number of modifications as issues with weight and performance were uncovered.

Boeing had actually built a number of the original 787-8 models as part of the testing and early production run prior to certification.

However, as modifications were implemented, a number of the earlier airframes were left sitting idle at Everett Paine Field awaiting a decision on their future – would they be modified at great expense, scrapped, or sold on?

These aircraft were dubbed the ‘terrible teens’, owing to their production line numbers.

When I visited Everett in 2012 many of these aircraft were parked up wearing the liveries of the airlines that they had originally been lined up for – the likes of All Nippon Airways and Royal Air Maroc.

However, for many they would not be delivered to these airlines and instead sold off cheaply to other carriers. Here’s what happened to them:

Line # 10

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA802A. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATG

Line #11

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA804A. Now painted white and stored at Westover AFB, Springfield, MA

Line #12

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA805A. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATL.

Line #13

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA809A. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATJ.

Line #14

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA814A. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATK.

Line #15

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA810A. Now flying for Air Austral as F-OLRB.

Line #16

Originally destined for LAN Airlines. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATH.

Line #17

Originally destined for Royal Air Maroc as CN-RGB. Later planned for use by Boeing Business Jets. Now painted white and stored at Victorville, CA.

Line #18

Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA827A. Now flying for Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ATI.

Line #19

Originally destined for Royal Air Maroc as CN-RGC. Now painted white and stored at Moses Lake, WA.

Line #22

Another early example not delivered as planned. Originally destined for All Nippon Airways as JA820A. Now flying for Air Austral as F-OLRC.