Dublin-headquartered EirTrade Aviation is to manage the disassembly and consignment of the first two B787-8s to be removed from commercial service.
“As no B787s have been retired from commercial service to date, there is almost no USM market for this platform at the moment. We are entering into a specialist area and hope to become a market leader in the provision of USM for the platform which will enable the reduction of the cost of maintenance events for B787 aircraft owners," said chief executive Ken Fitzgibbon.
The aviation asset management and trading company usually would carry out the work at its disassembly facility at Knock Airport in the west of Ireland, but this job has been moved to Prestwick in the UK due to scheduling requirements.
“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," said Steven Trowell, Eirtrade's hangar manager.
The aircraft, also known as the Dreamliner, is Boeing's flagship wide-body jet. Parts from the two decade-old aircraft will be available by March or April 2023, Eitrade said.