Singapore Airlines to replace engines on three A380s (3rd Roundup)

Nov 10, 2010, 11:25 GMT

Singapore/Sydney - Singapore Airlines on Wednesday said it would replace engines on three of its 11 Airbus A380 superjumbos after oil stains had been found during tests.

The measure came as a precaution after the explosion last week of a Rolls-Royce engine on a Qantas A380 forced the plane into an emergency landing.

Singapore Airlines chief executive Chew Choon Seng said 'some slight staining in certain areas' had been found on engines of three of the airline's A380 aircraft in London, Sydney and Melbourne.

'It's not a risk, but it is there,' he told a press conference.

The airline grounded scheduled A380 flights from Melbourne, Sydney and London as concerns spread about the airworthiness of Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

'It's only a precautionary measure,' said Chew, adding that the three aircraft, without passengers, would arrive in Singapore Wednesday evening.

The superjumbos would be grounded for the engine change for up to 48 hours, while the remaining eight A380 were operating as normal.

'Just because a car is recalled doesn't mean you can't use it in the meantime,' Chew said. 'We would not fly the planes unless we are confident they are airworthy.'

Singapore Airlines was the first to fly the world's largest passenger plane when the jet began commercial flights in 2007.

'The engine has been reliable throughout,' said Chew.

He said he was 'quite assured at the highest levels that Rolls-Royce is doing all that it takes to get to that point (of confidence),' referring to the checks done by the British engine manufacturer and advised both by Rolls Royce and Airbus.

Chew said Singapore Airlines was sticking to its order of more A380 superjumbos as 'there is no cause for us not to take the remaining eight.'

Australia's Qantas grounded its A380s last week for checks after an engine explosion on a Sydney-bound plane occurred minutes after it took off from Singapore.

Oil leaks were found on three engines on A380s in Sydney and Los Angeles, which are to be replaced before a decision is made on putting Qantas' six-plane A380 fleet back into service.

After the Qantas plane was forced into its emergency landing in Singapore Thursday, Singapore Airlines ordered an inspection of all the engines on its A380s.

Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa operate Rolls Royce-powered A380s, but the engines on the fleets are set up with different specifications.

The engines used by Qantas are set up to give more thrust than those fitted to the Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa fleets.

Lufthansa flies three A380s with the Trent 900 engine, which powers 20 of the 37 A380s in service.

Emirates Airline, which operates 13 A380s, and Air France, which has four in service, use the GP7200 engine from Engine Alliance, a joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt and Whitney.

Rolls-Royce, in its first public comments on problems with its engines, said from London that it had made 'good progress' in understanding the cause of the Qantas engine explosion.

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