By Andrew Heasley
The damaged A380's Rolls-Royce engine on Qantas flight QF32.Credit: Reuters
Qantas's superjumbo Airbus A380 fleet will progressively return to the skies, starting on Saturday, the airline said today.
The airline grounded the world's largest passenger jet for 19 days following a mid-air uncontained engine explosion,
Following action to replace the aircraft's Rolls-Royce engines, the airline will ferry the first of its A380s from Los Angeles, where it has been grounded, to Sydney, to commence flying passengers from Sydney to London via Singapore on Saturday, November 27, as flight QF31.
A second grounded A380 is expected be ferried from Los Angeles to Sydney by week's end, in readiness to fly passengers.
For now, the aircraft will only operate to the United Kingdom, said Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.
With two new Airbus A380s soon to be delivered to the airline, Qantas expects to have four of the double-decker flying giants in the sky for the busy Christmas period.
"The decision to restore A380 services follows an intensive Trent 900 engine inspection program carried out in close consultation with Rolls-Royce and Airbus. Together with the engine and aircraft manufacturers and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Qantas is now satisfied that it can begin reintroducing A380s to its international network progressively," the airline said in a statement.
But Qantas is far from out of the clouds yet.
The airline has imposed thrust limitations on the aircraft's troubled Trent 900 engines, so as to keep them well within safe operating parameters. This means that they won't be operating on the Los Angeles route in the immediate future.
"In line with its conservative approach to operational safety, Qantas is voluntarily suspending A380 services on routes that regularly require use of maximum certified engine thrust, and will do so until further operational experience is gained or possible additional changes are made to engines," the airline said.
"This is an operational decision by Qantas and pilots still have access to maximum certified thrust if they require it during flight.
"It is not a manufacturer's directive."
The planes that will be flying have been retro-fitted with the latest technical modifications to the engines' components, after an oil fire was identified as a likely cause of the violent engine explosion on the Nancy Bird Walton on November 4, which caused significant damage to the airframe.
The new planes to be delivered will have the latest Rolls-Royce modifications already installed.
Following those modifications, "we are completely comfortable with the operation of the aircraft," said Mr Joyce.
Mr Joyce said Rolls-Royce understood the impact the grounding of the fleet had on Qantas' operations and brand image, that the airline would be seeking compensation and the financial markets would be kept informed.
But compensation discussions with the engine maker would be had after the technical issues were fully understood, Mr Joyce said.
"We will have that dialogue, but now is not the time," he said.
As regards the damaged Nancy Bird Walton, it was repairable and would be returned to service, though timing of its return was in the "medium term", Mr Joyce said.
—with AAP
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