Source: Boeing (Media Centre/Gallery)
Type : B787
Model : B787-9
Family : Wide-body
Airframe Manufacturer : Boeing
Model Launch : 2004
No of Engines : 2
Engine Type – Model : GenX-1B / RR Trent1000 290
Seat Capacity: 290 Full Economy Configuration
Weight and Payload :254,000 Lbs Max Take Off Weight (MTOW)
Range Capacity : 7565 nm / 14,010 km
Other important features :
Raked Wingtips, Blended Winglet, Advanced use of composites, Improved passenger cabin.
Appraiser’s Opinion
Although the B787-9 program had a 2-year lead in launching compared with its rival, the A350-900 from Airbus, entry into service for both aircraft occurred almost simultaneously. The first B787-9 entered into service with Air New Zealand in June 2014 and has subsequently garnered ~ 60 customers worldwide. The B787 family has become a mainstay aircraft on long-haul routes for most airlines aiming to capitalise on point-to-point, non-stop routes, ranging between 15-17 hours of flight time. Despite its initial battery issues, which led to the grounding of the global fleet for a brief period, the global demand for the B787-9 has remained robust. This can be primarily attributed to the desire for airlines to either replace the 4-engine A380 on long-haul routes, or for airlines to compete with B777, A380 or A350 deployed on long-haul routes. In that aspect, it has proven to be an ideal replacement aircraft for such airlines.
On the maintenance front, there have been changes made to the B787- 9 to improve the costs as well as the grounding time during maintenance. The table below shows a comparative picture of the various costs and maintenance event intervals of the B787-9 versus other twin-engine wide-body aircraft. The extension / increase in the maintenance intervals on the airframe and landing gears is more significant compared with the on-wing life of the engines and the APUs. But one must remember that the engines on the B787-9, as well as the A350-900, are relatively new technology and have yet to fully mature. On the other hand, the GE 90-115 and Trent 700 / GE CF6-80 / PW4170 on the B777-300ER and A330-300 CEO respectively have matured over their life cycle.
Therefore, it can be expected that the on-wing life expectation of the GenX -1B or Trent 1000 on B787-9, as well as the RR Trent XWB on the A350-900, would be significant enhanced as maintenance practices and technologies evolves.
The desirability of the assets and, in turn the future demand, is influenced by the operating economics of the aircraft. The maintenance intervals and on-wing life, as well as associated costs, affect the operating economics of the aircraft. In this case, as compared with the other variants, the operating economics of the B787-9 appear to be better and hence improve the desirability of the asset in the current market state.
As more aircraft are delivered to cover the backlog of aircraft, it will be interesting to see the B787-9’s adaptability to market needs. Although the future does show potential for B777X and A350-1000 as ominous variants to the programs being phased out, the B787-9 would, in the appraiser's opinion, continue to have growing demand amongst its customer base as evidenced by recent airline orders.
Value Projections
Disclaimer:
The opinions and commentary mentioned is solely that of the author. The data used to derive such opinions is sourced from designated sources through proper means of subscriptions. For fin-S demo or certified appraisal report(s), please contact support@sparta.aero or valuation@acumen.aero respectively.
About the author:
Ameya Gore is a seasoned industry veteran with 17+ years of experience in diverse leadership roles. Along with being CTO — Digital at Acumen Aviation, a Dublin based Aviation Asset Management firm, Ameya is also a Certified Senior Appraiser and provides commercial valuation services to aviation customers. Previously, he has held other senior leadership positions in Technical and Asset Management and Data Management leading global operations, off-shore services and several mission-critical projects across the world.
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