Rolls-Royce stacks up A380 engines for faulty planes

Rolls-Royce has asked Airbus to return some A380 jet engines from production lines so it can use them to replace faulty ones in aeroplanes.

The move could be another blow to Airbus's much-delayed A380 programme, as it was scheduled to deliver over a dozen Rolls-Royce-powered superjumbos, primarily to Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Lufthansa, by the end of next year.

Airbus declined to say which airline's planes would receive the replacement engines.

"I can confirm that Rolls-Royce is arranging to supply some new engines from the production line to replace some engines removed from the serviced aircraft," a spokesman said.

Both Singapore Airlines and Qantas, with a combined 22 A380s still to be delivered, said they had not been informed of any delivery delays. Qantas said it expected none.

The Airbus A380 — the world's largest passenger aircraft with a list price of about $350 million — has been hit by safety concerns after a Rolls-Royce engine partly disintegrated mid-flight, forcing a Qantas plane to make an emergency landing on November 4.

European aviation authorities have ordered airlines using the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines to undertake strenuous tests, which analysts said were likely to disrupt schedules.

"Until this problem is fully resolved I think the situation with the delivery of A380 to customers... will be in jeopardy," Standard & Poor's analyst Sukhor Yusof said.

Airbus said last week that the problem with Rolls Royce engine could have an impact on its delivery target for next year.

It is already arranging for engines to be taken off the A380 production line in Toulouse and shipped to Sydney to be fitted to the grounded Qantas aircraft, according to a report in the Aviation Business.

Qantas's fleet of six A380 aircraft have remained grounded since the emergency landing in Singapore on November 4.

Rolls-Royce shares have fallen nearly 9% since then, with Qantas shares down about 5%.