Flight International - 5 June 2018

AIR TRANSPORT

20 | Flight International | 5-11 June 2018 flightglobal.com

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I

sraeli flag-carrier El Al has

disclosed that the maintenance

issues affecting Rolls-Royce Trent

1000 engines could affect plans

to replace the powerplants on its

first two Boeing 787-9s.

The airline’s first pair of Dream-

liners, introduced last year, were

both fitted with the Package C ver-

sion of the engine, rather than the

Trent 1000-TEN. El Al says this

was a consequence of “limita-

tions” in manufacturing produc-

tion for the powerplant, and that

while they were “supposed to be

replaced” in the second quarter of

2018, the discovery of durability

problems with Package C engine

blades has affected this timeframe.

While the situation also could

potentially delay the delivery of

new 787s to the airline, El Al says

it has not been notified of any

postponement of shipments due

this year. However, it will delay

the commencement of planned

services from Tel Aviv to San

Francisco with the type until

early in 2019.

Meanwhile, R-R aims to com-

mence testing during June of a re-

X

iamen Airlines has become

the latest Chinese carrier to

take delivery of a Boeing 737

Max-series narrowbody, as oper-

ators in the nation increasingly

look to employ the re-engined

type on international routes.

Xiamen’s first 737 Max 8 car-

ries the registration B-1288.

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows it is

R

ussian carrier Saratov Airlines’

revived hopes of maintaining

services have ended, after the

country’s civil aviation regulator

failed to approve an extension to

its air operator’s certificate. The

move led to it cancelling all

flights, effective from 30 May.

Safety regulator Rosaviatsia

points to the carrier’s failure to

address “significant” violations

identified in areas including crew

scheduling and rostering, pilot

checks and fatigue-management

measures.

Saratov had secured an exten-

sion of certificate validity from 27

April until 30 May, before warn-

ing in mid-May that it was prepar-

ing for closure. Rosaviatsia will

co-ordinate with other airlines to

maintain its route network.

The airline, which flew An-

tonov An-148s, Embraer E-Jets

and Yakovlev Yak-42s, suffered a

fatal An-148 crash on 11 Febru-

ary, which killed 71 people. In-

vestigators found that the heating

system for its pitot-static pressure

sensors had not been switched on

prior to taking off from Moscow

Domodedovo airport. ■

FLEET ELLIS TAYLOR PERTH

Max deliveries drive Chinese route development

Boeing shipped its first 737-8 for carrier Xiamen Airlines in late May

Boeing

DURABILITY DAVID KAMINSKI- MORROW LONDON

El Al reschedules Dreamliner

plans pending Trent solution

Issues affecting reliability of Rolls-Royce’s Package C engine influence 787-9 operations

vised intermediate pressure

compressor blade for the Trent

1000. This has already been in-
      stalled in a test engine, and initial
      parts should be available later
      this year: sooner than a previous
      target during 2019.
      R-R civil aerospace president
      Chris Cholerton admits that the
      disruption to 787 operators is
      “unacceptable”, but says the
      company remains committed to
      minimising the impact.
      “While we expect the number
      of aircraft affected to rise in the
      short term, as the deadline for the

completion of initial inspections

approaches, we are confident that

we have the right building blocks

in place to tackle the additional

workload,” he says.

R-R has trebled maintenance

capacity for affected engines, and

developed new inspection tech-

niques to support operators.

“We have made important pro-

gress in supporting our customers,

but there is clearly more to do,”

says Cholerton. “We will not rest

until we have ensured the engine

meets the high standards our cus-

tomers rightly expect.” ■

the first of a potential commit-

ment for 72 737-8s and -10s.

China Southern Airlines,

meanwhile, will use 737-8s for

nonstop flights between Urumqi

and the Russian city of St Peters-

burg. The operator will use the

type, configured with four busi-

ness-class seats, 24 in premium-

economy and 150 in economy, on

the route on a four-times weekly

basis from 2 June until 8 October.

The carrier’s reservations sys-

tem shows that current services

to St Petersburg Pulkovo airport

from Urumqi typically connect

through Moscow Sheremetyevo

airport with SkyTeam partner

Aeroflot.

Separately, Juneyao Airlines’

budget unit 9 Air has applied to

the Civil Aviation Administration

of China to amend its license to

allow international flights.

Juneyao disclosed in May plans to

launch international services from

its Guangzhou base and induct

737 Max-family aircraft.

FlightGlobal schedules data

shows the carrier currently oper-

ates mostly in eastern and south-

ern China, using 15 737-800s. ■

Timeframe has slipped for remedial work on initial two Dreamliners

AirTeamImages

OPERATIONS

DAVID KAMINSKI- MORROW

LONDON

Saratov Airlines

grounded over

safety violations