Malev 736s leave Shannon - for the scrapyard

[The SSK]

According to the Irish Times, at any rate

Malev planes leave Shannon - The Irish Times - Wed, Feb 15, 2012

Nine years old

[lederhosen]

Flying them to the US for storage to an airfield which also has a scrapyard does not mean they will be scrapped. The article probably contains the usual mistakes you expect to find in newspapers. However the sad truth is that smaller aircraft like the A318 are now less attractive. If these were really all 737-600s and destined to be scrapped which I doubt then it would be interesting news. Meanwhile until more reliably confirmed I would take it with a pinch of salt.

[MidlandDeltic]

Certainly reported on e-mail lists as going for parting out (by normally reliable sources) before their departure yesterday, and it is these that have departed. I believe some 737-600s have already met the same fate, and indeed some EZY 737-700s at Kemble of similar vintage. The -600, like the A318, always had a limited market, further damaged by lower operating costs of the Embraer 190, and it may be that the parts are indeed worth more to the owners than the complete frames.

MD

[Evanelpus]

Introduced in 1995, there have only been 69 orders for the -600 series so, not unexpectedly, demand for 2nd hand ones isn't high. It's probably cheaper to part them out and make money that way than it is for them to sit on an airfield rotting away.

[captplaystation]

Always found a bit strange the lack of interest that has always surrounded the 600. The 500 seemed a fairly popular aircraft, & lots of new aircraft arrived in the 100-110 seat bracket the Baby Boeing was in. Strange that there are no takers for a 9year old (assumedly well maintained) fleet.