Qantas: 40 Engine Swaps for Airbus A380s

Australia’s Qantas Airways says about 40 Rolls-Royce engines currently in use by Airbus A380 aircraft may need to be replaced.

Of the 38 A380s in service now, 21 use the Trent 900 series engine.

These Rolls-Royce powered planes are operated by Singapore Air, Qantas and Lufthansa.

With the largest fleet of 11 super jumbos using the Trent, Singapore Air may be hardest hit.

An industry source says SIA may be forced to replace 24 engines.

Qantas says it’s inspecting 14 engines which may need to be swapped from among its six planes.

Qantas adds it’s already changed three of the jet turbines.

Singapore Air refused to comment on the swaps Thursday, but the national airline has already cancelled some flights in the past two weeks to replace engines.

Rolls-Royce says the problem with the Trent 900 is confined to a specific part in the turbine area.

Aviation experts note the fault develops over time, so the new engines should not present any safety issues, and will give Rolls-Royce time to come up with a permanent solution.

Qantas’s six super jumbos remain grounded, costing the carrier $1 million a day.

But analysts say this will escalate, if the planes are not brought back into service for the busy travel period that begins next month.

Foto: NTDTV