As Airbus prepares to begin deliveries of the A330neo, engine supplier Rolls-Royce is working through industrial ramp-up issues that have slowed shipments of Trent 7000s to the Toulouse assembly line.
Airbus expects to deliver the first A330-900 to launch operator TAP Air Portugal in the coming days, but recently confirmed that deliveries of the aircraft will be slower than expected due to a hold-up at R-R. The UK engine maker acknowledged last month that it expects to deliver fewer Trent 7000 engines in the fourth quarter than originally planned.
Speaking at the A330-800 first flight event today in Toulouse, Rolls-Royce marketing vice-president for Airbus products, Peter Johnston, stated that the production issues being suffered on the Trent 7000 are industrial rather than technical.
“The engine deliveries are ramping up now. They’ve been slower than we wanted, really it’s been a question of the supply chain and getting our industrial ramp-up moving,” he says. Johnston adds that the delays are “not because of the technical issues associated with the Trent 1000 engines”.
The A330neo’s Trent 7000 engine is a relation of the Trent 1000-TEN which powers the latest versions of the Boeing 787. R-R has been working to resolve a serious compressor-blade technical issue with the 787’s Trent 1000 engine which has resulted in operators having to withdraw aircraft for repair.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
