Despite Airbus’s deep frustration about Rolls-Royce’s lack of transparency concerning the Trent 900 problems on the A380, the aircraft maker’s chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy, is sure the Trent 900 problems will be fixed.
There is nothing "fundamentally wrong with these engines,” he says, noting that investigators are pointing to a manufacturing defect. He argues that the current order to run the powerplant at lower thrust is merely temporary.
One reason Rolls will need to fix the problem is for later upgrades to the A380. Leahy notes that the stretched -900 and freighter would require higher thrust, providing an impetus for Rolls to deal with the Trent 900 problem. Airbus has not launched either the -900 or revived the freighter, but Leahy says that will eventually happen. However, he would put no timeframe on the undertaking, noting that Airbus has its hands full with the A350, A400M, and A320NEO.
One reason the Trent 900 situation is worrisome to Airbus is because it could cause the aircraft maker to miss its target of delivering 20 A380s this year. So far, 17 have gone to customers with an 18th planned to be handed over tomorrow to Qantas. Two more are due to the airline this year, but it is uncertain if sufficient Trent 900s will be available (Singapore has deferred one A380 because of seat availability concerns).
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