Air New Zealand will wet lease an Airbus A340 from Portuguese carrier Hi Fly owing to issues with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 afflicting its Boeing 787-9 fleet.
“We have been investigating a range of charter options to minimise customer impact as we work through the challenges created by the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 issue,” says Air NZ. “We have secured one Hi Fly A340 on a wet lease basis for a period from mid-May.”
This is not the first time that issues with its 787 engines has obligated Air New Zealand to lease aircraft. In late 2017, it wet-leased a Hi Fly A330 and an A340 to cover a shortfall in capacity caused by unexpected maintenance on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines that power its Boeing 787-9 fleet.
Air New Zealand said services to the United States and Japan have been affected by issues with some of its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on its Boeing 787-9s. This followed an FAA directive that meant some 787-9 flights to Asian destinations require fuelling stops.
On 23 April, in its fourth statement on the Trent 1000 issue, the carrier said it was working closely with the engine maker following a directive from EASA that detailed a new inspection regime for Trent 1000 powerplants as part of the effort to address intermediate pressure compressor blade durability. On 13 April, R-R had disclosed that Package C engines, which are used on the 787, are subject to greater scrutiny.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
