Another 2 billion could be down the Airbus drain

[Tomspur]

Let me ask a layman like question.

What happens to the old retired airframes? I see a lot of reference made to them being placed in a desert somewhere. Would it not make more sense to cut them up, and melt the raw materials? Is it a cost thing?
If all the workds 747's were to be scrapped, would that not take up a lot of space?

Thanks