Qantas has announced it will resume flying the Airbus A380 superjumbo this week on a limited basis, indicating it will take several more weeks to resolve engine problems that crippled a jet carrying 466 people this month.
Qantas will put two of its six A380s in the air from November 27 but the others will take "some time" to return, pending engine fixes, and the A380 will stay off routes to Los Angeles, among its most lucrative, the airline said.
"After extensive checking of our engines, working through with the regulators both Airbus and Rolls-Royce, Qantas has made the decision to start A380 operations this weekend. With the first service operating on the QF 31 flying from Sydney to London via Singapore and that will be the first scheduled services that will operate," Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told a news conference.
"We are, after those extensive checks with Airbus and Rolls-Royce, we are completely comfortable now with the operation of the aircraft, the aircraft have been grounded now for 19 days and we believe it is appropriate that they start the services this week," he added.
Qantas grounded its Airbus A380s on November 4 after one of its Rolls-Royce engines partly disintegrated on a Sydney-bound flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
Qantas' move to put the A380 back in the sky is a bit of welcome news for Airbus whose much-delayed 12 billion euro A380 program has struggled to attract airlines in some key markets, including the United States and Japan.
Rolls-Royce concluded the incident was caused by an oil fire but that the issue was confined to a specific component. It has since been scrambling to find a fix and replace faulty engines with new turbines.
Qantas replaced two engines on the first aircraft that will return to service, but declined to detail other engine changes, saying these had not been finalised.
The first A380 will be reassigned from the Los Angeles route and will enter service on the Sydney-London route on Saturday.
