Rolls-Royce to replace up to 40 A380 jet engines

ROLLS-ROYCE may replace up to 40 engines on Airbus A380 superjumbos flown by three airlines, Qantas said yesterday after a mid-air explosion sparked safety fears over the world’s biggest passenger jet.

The number accounts for nearly half the Trent 900 engines powering A380s operated by Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Germany’s Lufthansa and follows extensive checks after the November 4 blast over Indonesia.

Rolls-Royce has pinpointed a “specific component” in the Trent 900 as the cause of an oil fire behind the blast. Each A380 is powered by four engines.

“Rolls may have to look at replacing up to 40 engines across the entire A380 fleet,” a Qantas spokeswoman told reporters. “That includes the Singapore fleet and the Lufthansa fleet. Obviously Qantas doesn’t have 40 engines to replace, we only have six aircraft with four engines each.”

Qantas chief Alan Joyce said that up to 14 of the airline’s A380 engines could potentially need replacing, leaving it unclear when its fleet of A380s will resume flying.