Airbus May Delay Delivery of New A380 Planes to Address Engine Issues

Delivery schedules for the Airbus A380 may be in jeopardy, after Rolls-Royce asked Airbus-maker EADS to return some engines from production lines.

The engine-maker wants to use them to replace faulty ones on A380s already in service.

Airbus is scheduled to deliver over a dozen Rolls-Royce-powered A380s by the end of next year.

Most are for Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Lufthansa, but Airbus did not say which airlines would be affected.

Singapore Airlines say it has not been told of any delays. SIA is expecting eight A380s by March 2012.

Qantas says it expects no delays. The Australian carrier is set to take delivery of three A380s within the next few months.

Both airlines have a combined 22 A380s still to be delivered.

The $350 million super jumbo has been hit by safety concerns after a Rolls-Royce engine partly disintegrated mid-flight, forcing a fully laden Qantas plane to make an emergency landing on November 4.

Six Qantas A380s remain grounded, costing the airline at estimated $1 million for each day the planes stay grounded.

Foto: NTDTV