Qantas does not expect the engine problems it is experiencing to delay delivers of the 14 Airbus A380s it has on order, says Qantas general manager David Epstein.
Epstein says that if the situation with the engines or aircraft worsens, however, delivery of the carrier's next two A380s may be delayed.
"If there are issues that might need to be picked up in the production process or the pre-delivery process, we'll naturally have a dialogue with Airbus about that," Epstein says.
The carrier has taken delivery of six A380s and has 14 on order, including two due to be delivered by the end of the year, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.
Last Thursday a Qantas A380 en route to Sydney from Singapore safely returned to Singapore after its number two engine experienced an uncontained failure.
Over the weekend Qantas replaced two Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on separate aircraft due to oil leaks and other abnormalities, Epstein says. A third engine has been removed for further inspection, a spokeswoman says.
Lufthansa, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines operate the 20 operational A380s with Trent 900 engines. Qantas is alone in using a higher thrust variant of the engine. Air France and Emirates operate the remaining operational 17 A380s with Engine Alliance powerplants.
Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines have not reported any problems similar to those of Qantas, representatives say.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
