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Airbus A380's deal with Emirates delayed a year due to engine trouble
AIRBUS Group SE's struggles with its A380 superjumbo are deepening as the planemaker delays deliveries of a dozen aircraft over the next two years to Emirates, the double-decker's biggest customer, reports Bloomberg.
The holdup stems from an agreement between Emirates and engine supplier Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, Airbus said, adding that it will accelerate cost cuts at the unit to make up for the financial drag.
Handovers of six A380s that were originally planned for 2017 and 2018 will be shifted to a year later following a subsequent accord with Emirates and Airbus, the planemaker said, adding it still plans to deliver about 12 A380s per year as of 2018.
Emirates and Rolls-Royce reached a settlement in early December over the airline's A380 engine performance and maintenance concerns, after the carrier revealed technical shortcomings a few weeks earlier.
The Dubai-based carrier switched to Rolls-Royce engines for its latest batch of A380s after relying on General Electric's Engine Alliance joint venture with Pratt & Whitney for its first 90 orders, the last of which will be delivered early next year.
Winning Emirates as a customer for its Trent 900 engine was a major commercial victory for Rolls-Royce when it was announced in 2015. The contract for 217 powerplants - sufficient to power 50 four-engine planes, plus spares - remains the largest in the history of the UK's prime manufacturer.
In November, Emirates President Tim Clark revealed that feedback on the powerplants indicated "technical issues" that needed to be resolved before the first plane would be handed over.
Mr Clark said the engines required a "higher intervention rate" than expected for maintenance, in part due to unanticipated levels of wear to fan blades stemming from their deployment in Dubai's desert climate. Rolls-Royce will take the full financial brunt of the extra costs, he said in December.
A spokesman for the London-based engine maker said Rolls-Royce will "continue to work with Airbus and Emirates to meet their requirements."
The holdup stems from an agreement between Emirates and engine supplier Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, Airbus said, adding that it will accelerate cost cuts at the unit to make up for the financial drag.
Handovers of six A380s that were originally planned for 2017 and 2018 will be shifted to a year later following a subsequent accord with Emirates and Airbus, the planemaker said, adding it still plans to deliver about 12 A380s per year as of 2018.
Emirates and Rolls-Royce reached a settlement in early December over the airline's A380 engine performance and maintenance concerns, after the carrier revealed technical shortcomings a few weeks earlier.
The Dubai-based carrier switched to Rolls-Royce engines for its latest batch of A380s after relying on General Electric's Engine Alliance joint venture with Pratt & Whitney for its first 90 orders, the last of which will be delivered early next year.
Winning Emirates as a customer for its Trent 900 engine was a major commercial victory for Rolls-Royce when it was announced in 2015. The contract for 217 powerplants - sufficient to power 50 four-engine planes, plus spares - remains the largest in the history of the UK's prime manufacturer.
In November, Emirates President Tim Clark revealed that feedback on the powerplants indicated "technical issues" that needed to be resolved before the first plane would be handed over.
Mr Clark said the engines required a "higher intervention rate" than expected for maintenance, in part due to unanticipated levels of wear to fan blades stemming from their deployment in Dubai's desert climate. Rolls-Royce will take the full financial brunt of the extra costs, he said in December.
A spokesman for the London-based engine maker said Rolls-Royce will "continue to work with Airbus and Emirates to meet their requirements."
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