THAI engineers reassemble old Boeing engine that can be sold for THB100m
An enterprising team of Thai Airways International engineers collected engine parts from decommissioned Boeing 747-400 planes and successfully reassembled them into a serviceable engine that could be sold for as much as Bt100 million.
THAI’s engine service division announced the success of its Engine Re-birth initiative on Wednesday.
Division chief Cherdphan Chotikun said that after THAI underwent a restructuring to cut costs, the division’s staff were reduced from 200 to just 33. The remaining engineers initiated the ambitious project to find extra income for the company and to add more value to the airline’s assets.
They spent two months searching decommissioned planes for usable GE CF6-80C2B1F engine parts for the long-flying Boeing 747-400.
The collected parts were worth about Bt5.5 million, but after the team reassembled them into a serviceable engine, its value soared 20 times. It can now be sold for Bt100 million.
Cherdphan said the reassembled engine passed quality tests by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
He said the GE CF6-80C2B1F engine was in high demand.
