ANA faces canceling 350 flights over Rolls-Royce engine problems

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been forced to start removing Boeing 787 Dreamliners from operation after corrosion faults were discovered in medium-pressure turbine blades in the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce-manufactured Trent 1000 engines. The carrier intends to cancel up to 350 flights in the month of September while engine parts are replaced, according to the Nikkei business newspaper.
The problem was first discovered in February when an ANA Dreamliner had to return to Kuala Lumpur after one of its engines overheated. Engineers subsequently discovered damage to the medium-pressure turbine blades. Rolls-Royce notified other airlines using the same engine type, adding that it would make an improved part available by the end of the year. A Boeing spokesman commented at the time, “We are aware of the situation and are working with Rolls-Royce and ANA to resolve any issues impacting the airplanes in service.”
On Tuesday this week an ANA Dreamliner en route to Mumbai had to return to Tokyo’s Narita Airport after an engine signaled problems, though as yet the cause of this has not been revealed. The Japanese carrier is now prioritizing replacement of parts in some engines, having canceled over a dozen flights since last week and confirmed on Monday that it had discovered broken turbine blades in three 787s with Roll-Royce fitted engines. ANA has already started repairing all of its Dreamliners on international routes after investigators discovered the same medium-pressure turbine blades were corroding, perhaps due to a design flaw.
The problem will financially hit Rolls-Royce heavily as the majority of Rolls-Royce engines are covered by a price-per-flight hour maintenance contract, meaning that the longer-term costs will be borne by the British engine manufacturer. ANA has been in talks with Rolls-Royce over the engines since March about the costs of replacing the turbines that power its 50 787s fleet, by the end of 2019.
ANA is the world’s biggest operator of Dreamliners; its domestic rival, Japan Airlines (JAL), operates 30 787s, though these are fitted with a different type of engine.