Several months ago, I wrote about an online auction from a major airline looking to dump some pre-enjoyed Dreamliners. There’s now an update, as these planes have found a buyer, and we know where they’re (probably) headed.
China Southern hasn’t been very happy with these planes. The airline states that it wants to instead focus on larger wide body aircraft, which are higher capacity. Also keep in mind that while the 787-8 has great range, China Southern’s fleet doesn’t have the updated maximum takeoff weight, so these 787-8s aren’t as capable as some newer ones.
In 2024, the airline started a project to try and sell these aircraft to “further optimise its fleet structure,” though the process was suspended in early 2025, given the uncertainty related to tariffs. After several months, the airline resumed the process, with the idea being that China Southern wanted to take an “all or nothing” approach, and it was only willing to sell these Dreamliners if it could get rid of all of them, along with a spare pair of GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
