Talking scrap in this week's Flight

In the latest issue of Flight International we're talking scrap. Or more precisely why more newer airliners are ending their lives at the breaker's yard rather than being taken on by airlines in parts of the world where modern types are harder to afford. A waste or an inevitable result of rising fuel prices and the struggling efficiency of even middle-aged airliners? My colleague Olivier Bonnassies explains the complex economics behind the trend. Brendan Sobie has been in Brazil to look at that country's changing MRO scene, where some new players have big ambitions to attract customers from further afield. Really? Their logic is not as daft as it sounds, as Brendan explains. Plus: victory for Boeing and fair play, vindication for Airbus's policy of seeking taxpayer support to launch its programmes, or a pointless legal wrangle no longer relevant in a world which has moved on from the old duopoly and with no winners except some highly-paid lawyers? We look at the implications for the World Trade Organisation's latest ruling on subsidies. Check out a digital version of our issue here. You can subscribe to Flight International's print or digital version here.