Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 problems continue to plague Air New Zealand

December 13th 2019

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Joint venture partner Cathay Pacific will cover Auckland-Hong Kong for the airline after the engine manufacturer missed a September deadline for repair of the Auckland headquartered airline’s Trent 1000s. Read More »

Air New Zealand’s (Air NZ) displeasure with the extent of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 problems and the manner in which the engine-maker has handled them was made clear when Air NZ announced its next batch of 787s would be powered by GE engines. In February, Air NZ said it expected all aircraft affected by the Trent 1000 engine problems to be repaired and flying by September. Instead, the carrier has been forced to push the date forward to late March.

Recently Air NZ announced that for its daily Auckland-Hong Kong flight, joint venture partner, Cathay Pacific Airways, would take over the service, effectively as a wet lease agreement. Air NZ will pay the Hong Kong carrier for the aircraft, crew and costs. Cathay will use an A350-900 on the route from January 6 to 19 and Air NZ will operate the schedule from January 20-31. Cathay will return to the route flying a three-class 777-300ER from February 1 to March 28.

“This aircraft capacity will help fill the gaps in our schedule to get people to their destinations in the coming weeks. It's been beneficial to have our alliance partner, Cathay Pacific, step in and assist us at this busy time,” ANZ Senior Manager Customer Care and Communications, Doug Grant, said.

Previously announced ANZ reductions are its second daily Auckland-Perth from December 10 to January 5, ad hoc cancellations from Auckland to Sydney and Tonga and twice a week Christchurch-Perth.