News
Rolls-Royce engine problems ground some Air New Zealand flights
December 8th 2017
At press time, Air New Zealand told media there had been “two recent events” with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines that power its B787 fleet and that these events had resulted in cancelled flights and timetable revisions. Read More »
New Zealand accident investigation regulators are investigating the reported incidents after cockpit crew observed engine problems on two occasions: after take-off en route to Tokyo and on a flight from Auckland to Buenos Aires.
Thai Airways International, All Nippon Airways and Virgin Atlantic also have experienced problems with the Trent 1000, facts the manufacturer has acknowledged. A major Trent 1000 problem appears to be premature corrosion of the blades in the turbine, which requires the engine to be shut down. As a result, effected airlines have had to take several aircraft out of service and subsequently cancel flights while the damaged engines enter their MRO cycle earlier than scheduled.
In a statement this week, Air New Zealand said: “Rolls-Royce does not have any replacement engines available while this maintenance work is undertaken, which means some schedule changes are unavoidable” and added it was “focused on securing replacement aircraft capacity”. Just what the world beating carrier needed as the month long southern hemisphere peak holiday season approaches.
