Rolls-Royce Holdings
Industryweek 12425 Roll Royce Holdings Logo

Emirates Says Rolls-Royce A380 Engines Not Up to Agreed Standard

Nov. 18, 2016
“Technical issues” with the Rolls-Royce engine need to be resolved before the first plane is delivered to Emirates next month, says Tim Clark, the Dubai-carrier’s president.

Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, said it’s unhappy with performance shortfalls afflicting Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (IW 1000/192) engines ordered to power a batch of 50 Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos.

Feedback on the Trent 900 powerplants indicates “technical issues” that need to be resolved before the first plane is delivered to Emirates next month, Tim Clark, the Dubai-carrier’s president, said Friday in Frankfurt.

“We have a new engine coming on and there are some issues with that at the moment,” Clark said at a media briefing. “We want the engines as promised in the contract.”

Emirates last year ordered 217 Trent 900s -- sufficient to power the 50 four-engine A380s, plus spares -- after previously purchasing GP7000 powerplants from an alliance of General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney for its first 90 superjumbos. The deal with Rolls included unspecified “quality improvements.”

Clark said Emirates will “hopefully” still take the first Rolls-Royce powered plane on Dec. 2 as planned, adding that talks are underway with the manufacturer on resolving the performance issue and whether it should compensate the airline.

Rolls said in an email that it is “working with Emirates and Airbus to meet the planned entry into service of the Trent-powered A380 within the Emirates fleet.” While the London-based company already has a greater spread of customers for its superjumbo engine than the GE-Pratt model, it had previously been excluded from the world’s largest double-decker fleet.

By Andrea Rothman and Benjamin Katz

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Why DataOps may be the key to unlocking the full potential of digital transformation

Nov. 3, 2023
Read the 2023 market survey conducted by IndustryWeek

Food and Beverage 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America

Oct. 29, 2023
Ready to hear what 200 of your peers said are the top challenges and opportunities in 2024? Don’t fall behind. Uncover actionable insights to better prepare for 2024 in this whitepaper...

Modern Edge Computing Accelerates Smart Manufacturing Initiatives for Discrete Manufacturers

Oct. 22, 2023
Discover how Edge Computing platforms are a requisite for discrete manufacturers to solve production challenges, accelerate digitalization, and establish a reliable infrastructure...

Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America

Oct. 29, 2023
Manufacturers are reaping the benefits of automation and cloud-based solutions. Discover what is driving today's industry trends and how they can shape your growth priorities ...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!