If we examine Boeing’s order book, it’s
very clear that its 787 Dreamliner is a big hit among airlines. The US planemaker’s deliveries report on
its website indicates that it has produced over 1000 787s to date. And despite an early grounding, and a few
recent delivery issues, more continue to be ordered and produced. But did you know about the segment of Dreamliners
known as the “terrible teens”? This is a group of early-production 787s that
required significant modifications, including heavy structural reinforcement. The end result is that the jets are much heavier
than the Dreamliners that came after. Thus, due to their weight and resulting lack
of efficiency, these could be considered the worst 787s Boeing has ever built. In this video, we’ll look a little deeper
into these jets and where they are currently flying in 2023. When Boeing set out to design and build a
cleansheet widebody passenger aircraft, it worked hard to incorporate many cutting edge
technologies of the time, including large sections made from composite material, propulsion
with new high bypass engines, and a fly-by-wire flight control system along with sensors to
detect and counter turbulence. Of course, for passengers, there are the electronic
dimmable windows as well as the lower-altitude cabin pressure with slightly more humid air. As we’ve seen time and time again, developing
clean sheet aircraft comes with many challenges - not to mention cost overruns and delays. In the case of the 787 program, some of the
early production airframes are heavier and current production models. These jets are known as the quote-unquote
“terrible teens.” According to Business Insider, the name is
due to the fact that many of these nonconforming aircraft were between the 10th and 20th Dreamliners
built. The same website, as well as the Puget Sound
Business Journal, notes that there were 12 airframes in this group, while several other
sources note 11. As some of the first Dreamliners to be built,
Boeing had yet to complete the development process of the plane. As the website Airport Spotting notes, these
‘terrible teen’ jets were part of the testing and early production run prior to
certification. The Seattle Times reported that these jets
had faults including structural weakness where the plane’s wings melded with the fuselage. Needing to meet federal standards (particularly
if they were to be sold), the planemaker installed custom-fitted reinforcements. Its these modifications that made the jets
heavier. Despite Boeing finding ways to improve on
the early 787 design, the planemaker decided to sell off the older jets anyways, despite
their relative range and efficiency-related shortcomings. While authoritative and reliable technical
data has been difficult to come by, a contributor on the forum Airliners.net states that each
‘terrible teen’ Dreamliner is six tonnes overweight, with all of them having their
maximum takeoff weights limited to around 220 tonnes. Sifting through other sources, ch-aviation.com
data shows that some earlier 787-8s have an MTOW set at just under 216 tonnes while others
have a 219.5 tonne MTOW. Meanwhile, as per EASA’s Type-Certificate
Data Sheet published in April 2022, the 787-8’s MTOW is now set at nearly 228 tonnes. Looking back, it appears that Boeing had customers
lined up for these jets. Indeed, airline liveries had been applied
on these aircraft as there was an expectation that they would be sold off after testing. As Matt Falcus of Airport Spotting noted, “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, not all of the intended customers
would want these heavier jets. As the Seattle Times noted, All Nippon Airways
(ANA) and other early Dreamliner customers “opted to ditch the teens for planes manufactured
with the enhancements.” In fact, these “terrible teens” would
sit at Boeing facilities between 2010 and 2016. ““They’ve been here a long time. Nothing’s going on. Parts are missing,” a former Boeing physicist
said to the KUOW radio station in 2014. It wouldn’t be until around 2013 or 2014
that Boeing put some extra energy into selling the aircraft. As noted by an aerospace analyst in 2014,
there was a quote “diversion of personnel and resources needed to deal with unprofitable
aircraft.” In the same Seattle Times article, a Boeing
spokesperson stated, “We are actively marketing those airplanes and have several available
opportunities.” Boeing and its early 787 airframes would make
the news in 2015 and 2016 as customers would be found for these heavier jets. With this in mind, let’s see if we can figure
out who these jets were intended for and where each one ended up. Sources note that these ‘terrible teen’
aircraft are all 787-8s that have Line Numbers 10 through 22 and so this is where we will
begin our search. However, it’s also worth noting that some
787s sold off after the terrible teens are still considered heavier than the latest Dreamliners
being produced. This includes a number of 787-8s flying for
Air India. All data in this next section is courtesy
of Planespotters.net. Line No. 10 is now registered ET-ATG and is
operated by Ethiopian Airlines. The jet was delivered to Ethiopian in June
2017 and has Chile’s LAN Airlines and Indonesia’s Lion Air as previous customers who chose not
to take the aircraft. Line No. 11 is now registered HL8508. The jet was intended for ANA but was then
changed to Russian carrier Transaero. Neither operator actually took delivery of
the aircraft and it appears that the 787 became a Boeing Business Jet in 2015. Quite interestingly, this aircraft suffered
a forward gear collapse in 2018. This was due to a misplaced nose landing gear
pin during maintenance. This sounds quite similar to a British Airways
incident we covered in 2021. Eventually, however, the aircraft was sold
off to Korean Air Lines and is still listed as being in a VIP configuration. Line Numbers 12, 13, and 14 have similar fates
and now operate with Ethiopian Airlines under registrations ET-ATL, ATJ, and ATK, respectively. ANA was the original customer for all three
jets while Lion Air and Transaero are also listed as interim intended customers that
never took delivery of the aircraft. Line No. 15 now operates as F-OLRB with Air
Austral. Delivered in October 2016, the aircraft was
intended for ANA, and then Lion Air, but was not taken up by either airline. Line No. 16 also went to Ethiopian Airlines
and is now registered ET-ATH. Delivered to the airline in March 2017, the
jet was intended for LAN and then Lion Air but was accepted by neither. Line No. 17 is an interesting case as it doesn’t
appear to currently be in service. Originally intended for Royal Air Maroc, the
jet appears to have gone to Crystal Luxury Air as N947BA. It then went to TVPX Trust Services in 2019
and eventually the Bank of Utah in 2022. It was reported by The Points Guy in 2021
that the jet was sold to Resorts World Last Vegas but its unclear if the deal went through,
considering it hasn’t flown since then. The 787 now sits inactive in Victorville,
California. With five more jets to go, Line No. 18 also
went to Ethiopian Airlines and is now registered ET-ATI. ANA was the first intended customer while
Lion Air appears to have also wanted the jet at one point. Line No. 19 was intended for Royal Air Maroc
and then Rwandair but taken up by neither. It was then registered with a private owner
as VP-CSC in 2017. Japan Airlines took Line Numbers 20 and 21
in 2013, registering them as JA821J and 823J, respectively. And finally, Line No. 22 went to Air Austral
in 2016 and is registered F-OLRC. Its original customer was ANA, and then Transaero. The Seattle Times noted in 2014 that buyers
would have likely paid less than half of the $211.8 million list price for a brand new
787-8. Indeed, aviation consultant Douglas Kelly
told the media outlet that the the 787 teens had a market value of $115 million each for
a single-unit or small lot sale, but that airlines would have demanded discounts of
10-15% for the jets. Despite their heavier weight, the 787s would
have had the same warranties as new aircraft, along with an estimated 10 percent fuel savings
over Airbus A330-200s. Their range is said to be about 1,000 nautical
miles less than later Dreamliners. Considering this handicap still allows operators
to take the Dreamliner quite far, some carriers might have secured a fairly good deal for
the jets. FlightRadar24.com notes that Ethiopian Airlines
flies one of its ‘terrible teen’ jets as far as Singapore from its Addis Ababa hub. So, that’s our summary of Boeing’s group
of 787 Dreamliners dubbed the ‘terrible teens.’ Based purely on weight and resulting fuel
burn, they could very well be considered Boeing’s worst 787s. But, while the company may have had a hard
time selling the jets, it looks like the airlines that scooped them up are operating them quite
regularly these days. Did you know about this group of aircraft? Do you think you’ve flown on any of them? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving
a comment!
