What is the issue with Cathay Pacific's A350 Rolls-Royce engines?
Updates China Airlines comment in final paragraphs
By Lisa Barrington
Sept 3 (Reuters) -Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways 0293.HK said on Monday it was inspecting all 48 of its Airbus AIR.PA A350 widebody jets after the in-flight failure of a component in an engine that is made by British manufacturer Rolls-Royce RR.L.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FLIGHT?
A problem unfolded several minutes after take-off on flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich on Monday, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24.
The five-year-old A350-1000 plane performed two wide circles and dumped fuel over the sea before returning to Hong Kong where it landed safely about 75 minutes after its departure.
Cathay Pacific said it identified an engine component failure after the aircraft returned to Hong Kong.
WHY DID THE A350 ENGINE FAIL?
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 told Reuters the incident involved a problem with a fuel nozzle inside a XWB-97 engine, the Rolls-Royce model used on the A350-1000.
HOW MANY TYPES OF A350S ARE THERE?
The Airbus A350 is a twin-aisle long-haul aircraft that can carry between 300 and 480 passengers. It comes in two sizes: the A350-900 and the larger A350-1000, both powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce engines.
WHAT ENGINE DOES THE A350 USE?
The A350-1000 and the A350 freighter use Trent XWB-97 engines, Rolls-Royce's largest civil jet engine.
The more popular A350-900 uses its Trent XWB-84 engines.
ARE ALL A350 ENGINES AFFECTED?
It is not clear.
Cathay Pacific said the incident occurred on one of its 18 A350-1000 planes, but it was also inspecting its 30 A350-900s as a "precautionary measure".
The airline said it had "identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced" but did not say on which model aircraft.
Rolls-Royce did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported fuel nozzle problem, but said earlier it was aware of the incident at Cathay and would work closely with the airline, Airbus and relevant authorities.
Rolls-Royce shares closed 6.5% lower on Monday.
HOW MANY A350 AIRCRAFT COULD BE IMPACTED?
There are 88 A350-1000 jets in operation worldwide, according to Swiss aviation intelligence provider ch-aviation.
The top six operators are Qatar Airways with 24 planes, British Airways ICAG.L with 18, Cathay Pacific with 18, Virgin Atlantic with 12 and Etihad Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL) 9210.T with five each.
There are 520 A350-900s in operation worldwide, ch-aviation data shows.
It is not clear whether other airlines are inspecting their engines.
Broker Jefferies said in a note to clients on Monday that 234 XWB-97 engines had been delivered to customers by the end of June.
WHICH CATHAY PACIFIC FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED?
Cathay Pacific said on Monday it had cancelled 24 return flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Osaka, Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore operating until the end of Wednesday, and it would update on further cancellations as it completes its inspections.
The airline's A350s also serve destinations in Europe and North America.
Cathay Pacific shares were down 0.5% in morning trade on Tuesday.
WHAT ARE OTHER AIRLINES WITH A350S DOING?
Tokyo-based JAL, which has five A350-1000s that are all less than a year old, said it has 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.
Taiwan's China Airlines 2610.TW, which operates 15 A350-900s but no A350-1000s, said its fleet did not use the affected engines, so its operations would not be impacted.
"The company will continue to pay attention to the instructions of the original manufacturer and take the initiative to arrange for testing operations to ensure the safety of aircraft operations," it said in a statement.
Cathay Pacific inspects Airbus A350 fleet after engine part failure ID:nL1N3KK0FR
Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Additional reporting by Maki Shiraki in Tokyo and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Jamie Freed
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.