Virgin Atlantic may not retire its four-engine Airbus A340 jets after all, due to ongoing engine trouble with its Boeing 787 fleet.
Virgin uses Rolls Royce engines on its 787s. These engines have been problematic for Virgin Atlantic (and other airlines like British Airways and Norwegian). The Trent 1000 engines require a heightened degree of maintenance, forcing Virgin Atlantic to frequently pull its 787 out of service for inspections and repairs.
Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss explained the issue in this way:
“It’s more treatment, changing some of the parts, the components, the blades inside and some of the fans and that is done by Rolls-Royce. The life that you expect to have in an engine before it needs to be inspected and treated is much shorter.”
With a fleet of 17 787, this has created a crunch on aircraft. Even though standard maintenance checks can be planned in advance, unplanned issues are frequent and create operational issues. Weiss added:
“I’m happy when they fly. We’re working diligently with our partners at Rolls-Royce and Boeing. I know they will sort it out but we are not happy with planes that are not flying.”
Virgin Atlantic May Delay A340 Retirement
Virgin planned to retire its entire fleet of A340 by the end of this year. But with the 787 still giving Virgin Atlantic problems, that retirement date might be pushed out further.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said:
“While no decisions have been made, due to ongoing supply issues with 787 Rolls-Royce engines, our A340-600s may remain flying a little longer than planned.”
Virgin Atlantic also has 12 A350-1000s on order, with deliveries spaced over the next two years, but still needs a stop-gap measure. It appears the A340 will serve that role.
CONCLUSION
I’ve reviewed both the A340-600 and the 787-9 in Upper Class. You can read my reviews below:
Thanks to trouble with the latter, we may continue to see the former for months…and perhaps even years…to come.
image: Aero Icarus / Wikimedia Commons
For all the troubles with Boeing planes it’s stock has held up fairly well.
the trouble is with the engines. has nothing to do with Boeing. 787s with GEx engines are unaffected.
Makes you wonder why airlines continue to buy BA aircrafts. At all sizes except super-jumbo (A380), Airbus blows them out the water in reliability (A320/350 vs B737/787) and passenger comfort (A350 vs B787). The only BA offering superior to Airbus is the B777 line, but who knows when the 777X will be released and whether it will share the production problems of BA’s more recent planes.
The problem is with the Rolls Royce engine, not the 787. The headline should be changed to make that clear. Boeing deserves a lot of grief, but this is not their fault.
Agreed that this is a Rolls Royce issue more than Boeing, but the headline is not incorrect – I’d argue the buck stops with Boeing.
Except that airlines pressured Boeing into offering two engine options and RR has failed (tinfoil hat theory: want the 787 to fail a bit) to correct the problem or even have a concrete roadmap to getting all of the engines fixed. Even if airlines wanted to switch to the GE engine the pylon or something structural is different so it’s not interchangeable. The easy headline is to say it’s Boeing’s issue but it creates a false narrative that Boeing has control over these already-manufactured planes that airlines ordered with RR engines.
It’s called price. Boeing builds cheap, Airbus builds quality.
has nothing to do with boeing. If anything, its the cheaply built British Rolls Royce engines. the American made GE engines have not been affected. Rolls Royce engines are also to blame for the British Airways Flight 38 crash years ago.
Why are airlines continuing to buy 787s with the trent 1000 engines.the GE engines are more reliable and a lot less trouble. If the core of XWB on the A350 is similar to the trent 1000,why hasn’t had the same issues.
I ask with tears in my eyes, why do airlines continue with the Rolls Royce 1000 Trent engines which are so troublesome?. And have faulty fan blades.
Why not use American Pratt & Whitney dependable jet engines?
Just be done and get rid of Rolls Royce engines.
Can anyone enlighten me please?
Excellent.
Living under what can be the LHR departure path, depending on prevailing winds, I would much rather hear an A340 than a 787. The former is much quieter.
Personally, I’m just happy to see these beautiful airliners hang around a little longer.