Cathay Pacific inspections find 15 A350s need engine parts replaced
Rolls shares rose 2.4 per cent and were among the top gainers on London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
Cathay Pacific said three of the 48 Rolls-Royce-powered planes it had inspected had gone through successful repairs and all were expected to resume operation by Saturday.
It cancelled at least 34 round-trip flights due to the disruption to its fleet.
Data from flight tracking service FlightRadar24 showed other major operators of the A350-1000 and the smaller, more popular A350-900, still flying their aircraft on Tuesday.
Rolls-Royce has not yet issued a directive to airlines regarding possible inspections, according to an industry source who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.
Such a step is typically the first sign of an official instruction from regulators, though they can act independently.
Japan Airlines (JAL), which has five A350-1000s, said it had asked Rolls-Royce for more information and had not stopped A350 flights in the meantime.
“If the engine manufacturer takes any further action, we will respond accordingly,” a JAL spokesperson said.
Cathay Pacific said it had secured spare parts for the components that needed to be replaced. Rolls-Royce said the replacement could take place while the engine remained on-wing.
The engine manufacturer said it was committed to working closely with Cathay Pacific, Airbus and investigators in Hong Kong, whose safety agency confirmed it had launched a probe.
Cathay Pacific has not specified which engine component failed, but the carrier said it was the “first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide”.
A person familiar with the matter said the incident involved a leak in a system designed to inject fuel to the engine.
Source: CNA