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Rolls-Royce seeks to replace faulty engines

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY - Engine maker Rolls-Royce has asked Airbus to return some Airbus A380 engines from production lines so it can use them to replace faulty ones on airplanes already in service.

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The Airbus A380 — the world’s largest passenger aircraft with an average list price of about $350 million — 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 in Singapore on November 4.

Rolls-Royce’s move could be another blow to a much-delayed A380 programme as Airbus was scheduled to deliver over a dozen Rolls-Royce-powered A380s — primarily to Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Lufthansa by the end of next year.

“Until this problem is fully resolved I think the situation with the delivery of A380 to customers... will be in jeopardy,” Standard & Poor’s analyst Sukhor Yusof said. But both Singapore Airlines and Qantas, with a combined 22 A380s still to be delivered, said on Tuesday they had not been informed of any delivery delays. Airbus said last week that the problem with Rolls-Royce engine could have an impact on its earnings and delivery target for 2011 but did not give detail and airlines contacted on Tuesday had no knowledge of deliverytimetable changes.

Airbus can ill afford setbacks in sales for a plane which cost €12 billion ($16.3 billion) to develop but has struggled to attract airlines in some key markets including the US and Japan.