A380 gamble wings Qantas

A QUEST by Qantas to become an early operator of the troubled Airbus A380 aircraft to help stave off competition from its rivals has backfired, experts believe.

The purchase of 20 super-jumbos, at a price of $332 million each, goes against Qantas's previously conservative buying practices, a senior aviation source said. He said the airline would traditionally wait for teething problems to be fixed before buying new models. "Qantas wanted to … be the first and the fastest. It had to buy the A380 to compete with Singapore Airlines [the first airline to offer an A380 service] on similar routes."

Rolls-Royce, which makes the Trent 900 engines for Qantas's A380s, has admitted responsibility for two engine failures and other faults that have grounded the airline's six superjumbos since November 4, but not before Qantas suffered huge financial losses and blemishes on its safety record.

Qantas would not confirm if it planned to pursue a multimillion-dollar warranty and damages claim against Rolls-Royce even though the manufacturer admitted modifying its new Trent 900 engines to address a potentially dangerous oil leak.

The British company confirmed an oil fire on QF32 had led to the disintegration of a turbine disc above the Indonesian island of Batam. An airline spokesman said yesterday compensation "was not on the radar at this stage" while it was working closely with Rolls-Royce to modify the engines.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said yesterday he refused to rush the A380s back into service. "We're not going to rush anybody, we're not going to be putting a deadline on it. We're going to make sure it's absolutely right before we have this aircraft start flying again," he said.

The airline has suffered four in-flight or pre-flight mishaps since the engine on a Singapore-Sydney A380 flight failed 10 days ago. Another flight from Singapore to Sydney, of a Boeing 747-400, was also forced to turn back with engine failure, and yesterday a Sydney-to-Melbourne flight was temporarily grounded with a mechanical fault.

Richard Woodward, an A380 captain and vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, said Qantas was a "victim" in the Rolls-Royce engine drama. "It is a customer of Rolls-Royce and had trust in its long association with that company," Captain Woodward said. "Qantas is a victim in some ways and will just have to wear it for the time being."

The airline has acknowledged that, despite its strong reputation for safety, the latest engine dramas would have an effect.

Qantas management was also watching developments with the new-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. In August, a Trent 1000 exploded in a British test lab.

On Tuesday, a Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing during a test flight after a small fire in an equipment bay. Qantas has ordered 50 Dreamliners.

The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association said Qantas would suffer continuing operational issues because Rolls-Royce maintained the Trent 900 engines.

SOURCE