It appears that Qantas's fleet of A380 superjumbos could be on
the ground much longer than was first thought as the aircraft
undergo safety checks following last week's mid-air
emergency.
Investigators are now concentrating on what they believe was an oil
fire in one of the Rolls-Royce engines.
Other airlines flying the A380 - although not with Rolls-Royce
engines - are concerned that they may become victims of any bad
press surrounding the Airbus superjumbo.
"We really don't want this aircraft tarnished with a reputation for
failures in certain areas,'' said Emirates' president Tim
Clark.
''One thing we will not allow is a contagion effect.''
Qantas has released a new international schedule for coming weeks
that does not include A380s.
Airbus A330s will replace Boeing 747s on the Sydney-Tokyo and
Sydney-Hong Kong routes, allowing the 747s to take over from the
A380s on long-haul routes to Los Angeles and London.
The release of the schedule suggests Qantas is preparing for its
A380s to be on the ground for some time.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline would not return the A380s to
service until ''there is complete certainty that the fleet can
operate safely''.
Singapore Airlines, which took three Airbus A380 planes out of
service on Wednesday, has not ruled out the possibility of
grounding more of the superjumbos.
SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng said, "We are in very close
communication with the aircraft manufacturer and
engine-maker.
"Even as they analyse the data, the observations, they come back to
us with new recommendations. It is an ongoing, continuous process,"
he said.
