Airbus A380 Engine Woe Wipes £1Bn Off Rolls-Royce

[athom]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/8113923/Airbus-A380-engine-woe-wipes-1bn-off-Rolls-Royce.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327147/Passengers-scream-second-Qantas-jet-engine-trouble.html

After the pillage of BP we get this. 2 engines in a week? Who stands to benefit? General Electric in trouble by any chance? Can we completely rule out the possibility of industrial sabotage? Would they stoop so low for something as minor as their economic future? I couldn't help thinking the Toyota safety issues came up at a very good time for the USA car industry and the claims all seemed to be coming from within the USA.....

[Bloo Loo]

http://www.telegraph...olls-Royce.html

http://www.dailymail...ne-trouble.html

After the pillage of BP we get this. 2 engines in a week? Who stands to benefit? General Electric in trouble by any chance? Can we completely rule out the possibility of industrial sabotage? Would they stoop so low for something as minor as their economic future? I couldn't help thinking the Toyota safety issues came up at a very good time for the USA car industry and the claims all seemed to be coming from within the USA.....

Im sure engines fail all the time.

its just that this was on a new aircraft.

According to a post on one of those links, there is a volcano thats been active for about a week, right on or near the flightpath.

[Errol]

It's the dust from the volcano. The coincidence is too great for it to be anything else (surely?).

[newbonic]

http://www.telegraph...olls-Royce.html

http://www.dailymail...ne-trouble.html

After the pillage of BP we get this. 2 engines in a week? Who stands to benefit? General Electric in trouble by any chance? Can we completely rule out the possibility of industrial sabotage? Would they stoop so low for something as minor as their economic future? I couldn't help thinking the Toyota safety issues came up at a very good time for the USA car industry and the claims all seemed to be coming from within the USA.....

You just don't like 'The Great Satan' do you?

It's cheering to see the conspiracy theorists are on the job so soon though.

[athom]

Even the MSM are asking about sabotage so it's a bit lame to accuse me of being some kind of yankophobe.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/06/3059161.htm

Asked whether he thought the 747 had been sabotaged, Mr Joyce said: "We do not believe this is sabotage. It looks like a mechanical failure of the engine."

Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth says while both aircraft operated on Rolls-Royce engines, they were using different models and there was no apparent connection between the incidents.

If anything this makes it more of a coincidence.

Is there any airline about to sign a contract with Rolls-Royce about now?

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

Even the MSM are asking about sabotage so it's a bit lame to accuse me of being some kind of yankophobe.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/06/3059161.htm

If anything this makes it more of a coincidence.

Is there any airline about to sign a contract with Rolls-Royce about now?

[mattyfc]

This one was a different type of Engine apparently. The a380 trent 900 is much newer but has still been in service since 2004. There may be a connection since both planes coming out of the same airport with the same airline. Maybe maintenance or the ash cloud.

It would seem unlikely there is a design problem with the Trent 900 that is only surfacing now when they have been in service for 6 years and done tens of thousands of flying hours. Could be maintenance though.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce Friday said the design of Rolls-Royce engines could have caused the mid-air failure that forced its A380 super jumbo to make an emergency landing in Singapore.

"This is an engine issue and the engines were maintained by Rolls-Royce since they have been installed on the aircraft," Joyce told reporters at the company's headquarters in Sydney. "We believe this is most likely a material failure or some kind of design issue."

Maybe more sensible to investigate what happened before blaming? It could easily turn out to be a Quantas or Airbus problem.

[Bloo Loo]

This one was a different type of Engine apparently. The a380 trent 900 is much newer but has still been in service since 2004. There may be a connection since both planes coming out of the same airport with the same airline. Maybe maintenance or the ash cloud.

It would seem unlikely there is a design problem with the Trent 900 that is only surfacing now when they have been in service for 6 years and done tens of thousands of flying hours. Could be maintenance though.

Maybe more sensible to investigate what happened before blaming? It could easily turn out to be a Quantas or Airbus problem.

Pilot error...its always their fault...even if it isnt.

[Bruce Banner]

Pilot error...its always their fault...even if it isnt.

Nah, they only use that one when he's dead.

[Krackersdave]

Even the MSM are asking about sabotage so it's a bit lame to accuse me of being some kind of yankophobe.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/06/3059161.htm

If anything this makes it more of a coincidence.

Is there any airline about to sign a contract with Rolls-Royce about now?

Singapore is 15% Muslim so if you are happy to point the finger at the US then surely you can't object if someone else points the finger at Islamic terrorism...

[athom]

http://www.rolls-royce.com/press/press_releases/

More than a billion $ of new orders announced in the last 2 months alone. When you're talking that level of money i would believe any level of corruption.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A44AC20101105

(Reuters) - The failure of a Rolls-Royce plc engine on a Qantas Airways flight could present an opportunity for rival jet-engine makers, particularly No. 3 Pratt & Whitney, to gain market share.

Given the aviation industry's long order cycle and the lengthy testing that follows incidents like Thursday's, when one of the engines on a massive Airbus A380 jet appeared to break apart in flight, it could take years for the changes to play out.

"Things move slowly in the engine business, but there is no question that you have a series of events that really put Rolls-Royce's reputation at risk," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president at aviation consultancy Teal Group. "Unless they can get ahead of this and prove that they can solve their many challenges, you can see an opportunity for Pratt to get back to No. 2."

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, has long trailed No. 1 jet engine maker General Electric Co and No. 2 Rolls.

A GE-Pratt joint venture, the Engine Alliance, makes the other engine used on the A380. That venture said on Friday it was not recommending aircraft owners take any special steps to inspect its engines, which would not be affected by Rolls' troubles.

"There is opportunity in someone else's misfortune and people will step into that," said Peter Klein, senior portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management, who oversees funds that hold both GE and United Tech shares. "My guess is that until (the airlines) figure out what caused this problem on the engine, they'll probably stick with what they've got."

The troubles of Britain's Rolls may mean that Pratt has one less rival to worry about as it looks to boost its share of the single-aisle jet market.

GE and Pratt & Whitney both American.

[Kyoto]

Does anyone know if BA have these? I am in Hong Kong at the moment and flew out on a huge double decker thing....

Should I be looking for a boat instead?

[efdemin]

Does anyone know if BA have these? I am in Hong Kong at the moment and flew out on a huge double decker thing....

Should I be looking for a boat instead?

Fairly sure they don't. Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Emirates were the first buyers, pretty sure BA (or Virgin) haven't got any yet, or are waiting for the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner'.

Might want to check it's not a code share with another airline though, just in case? But it wouldn't worry me anyway.

Wikipedia says no:

The Airbus A380 is due to enter service with British Airways in 2013.