Australian airline Qantas has kept its fleet of six Airbus A380 superjumbos grounded for an eighth day, while engineers from Qantas and engine-maker Rolls Royce continue tests on the Trent 900 engines that power the aircraft. The Australian government’s aviation safety authority said 11 November it will give the final go-ahead whether the planes can fly again soon. Sinagpore Airlines announced 10 November it was changing engines on three of its airliners, which will be out of service for at least two days.
The European Air Safety Agency issued a directive obliging frequent checks of the Trent 900 engine, warning that an oil fire within the engine may have caused the engine to fail, reports the Aviation Herald.
The airplanes, the world’s largest commercial aircraft, have been out of service after a mid-air explosion in one engine on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney 4 November forced an emergency return to the airport.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, Flight Global, Wall Street Journal
Singapore Airlines A380 jumbo jet
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The huge and nearly quiet A380 Airbus jumbojet made what is likely to be a rare appearance in Geneva Thursday morning 21 January. It flew in from Zurich in order to be sure there are no problems landing the plane, in order for the airport to be certified to welcome it.
Singapore Airlines flew the plane in and out of Zurich Wednesday, in order for Kloten airport to be certified for it. Singapore will begin scheduled flights there in the summer of 2010. Geneva is a back-up emergency landing airport for the plane, and thus also needs to be certified. The A380′s other European airports are London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Links to other sites: TDG (Fre), 20 Minutes with video (Fre) and TSR television (Fre)
an A380 in the air (image: Singapore Airlines)
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Airbus 380, the world’s largest plane, touched down in Zurich shortly after dawn Wednesday 20 January, to the cheers of a large crowd. The plane had no passengers and was not a commercial flight but rather a test before the plane comes into service at the airport. Singapore Airlines announced last week that it will use the plane for Singapore-Zurich flights. It was the first airline to use the plane for commercial flights, starting in 2007.
The company already operates the superjumbo on Paris and London flights, and has a fleet of 10 in service, with nine more firm orders and options on an additional six.
