Rolls-Royce boosts share price on A380 tests
AERO engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce bolstered its share price after it announced it is to carry out a series of checks on Airbuses powered by its Trent 900 engine.
The move follows an engine failure on a Qantas A380 flight last week that forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
Derby-based Rolls-Royce said it had made progress on the cause of the failure and it was now clear the incident was specific to the Trent 900 engine.
It said: “As a result, a series of checks and inspections has been agreed with Airbus, with operators of the Trent 900 powered A380 and with the airworthiness authorities.
“These are being progressively completed which is allowing a resumption of operation of aircraft in full compliance with all safety standards.
“We are working in close cooperation with Airbus, our customers and the authorities, and as always safety remains our highest priority.”
It said the separate Trent 1000 failure which occurred in August on a test bed in Derby was unconnected.
“This incident happened during a development programme with an engine operating outside normal parameters.
“We understand the cause and a solution has been implemented,” said the firm.
It said the Trent 900 incident was the first of its kind to occur on a large civil Rolls-Royce engine since 1994.
The pessimism surrounding the company was also lifted slightly with the announcement it had also secured a £220m ($350m) order from Egyptair for extended TotalCare® long-term services for 12 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Egyptair currently operates eight A330s and four are due to be delivered in
2010 and 2011.
