Cathay Pacific Airways may not be able to put all of its Airbus A350 aircraft back into service as quickly as hoped due a spare parts shortage, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The carrier has taken several jets out of service in recent days after an engine component failure on one of its A350 aircraft forced a flight bound for Zurich to return to Hong Kong late Monday.
That triggered a precautionary inspection of the engines on Cathay’s entire A350 fleet of 48 jets. Rolls-Royce Holdings is the sole engine maker for the Airbus A350.
Of the 48 planes that were inspected, 15 were found to need a new fuel hose component, the person said, declining to be identified because they’re not authorised to speak publicly.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Cathay’s inspection of its A350 fleet is focused on deformed or degraded fuel lines in the engines of the widebody aircraft.
Engineers have been asked to make specific checks to the flexible hoses supplying fuel to the engine for abnormalities, deformation, kinks, bulges or degradation.
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Of the 15 A350s found to need the replacement hose, three have been repaired and are back in service but 12 are still waiting, casting doubt on whether all can be returned to the skies by the end of the week as Cathay had initially hoped, the person said.
Representatives for Cathay said the airline is “monitoring the situation as stock comes in”, adding the carrier is confident it should be able to stick to its original guidance of having all operations back to normal by Saturday.
Supply chain snarls, both from a labour and parts perspective, have plagued the aviation industry since Covid, forcing planemakers Airbus and Boeing to seriously dial back production schedules. Engines, and their complex make up of highly specialised and precision parts, have become a particular flashpoint.
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Even before Cathay’s discovery, the Rolls-Royce engine on the A350, particularly for the larger -1000 variant of the plane, had faced criticism from some airlines. Emirates has refused to order the model in the large numbers it previously planned, with President Tim Clark calling the engines’ power plant “defective” because of its high maintenance requirements in harsh climates like Dubai.
Rolls-Royce previously suffered big issues on its Trent 1000 model that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. While Rolls says the model is now greatly improved, the problems weighed heavily on its market position, and now GE commands an insurmountable lead on that plane.
Even British Airways recently switched to the US manufacturer for its 787 planes, showing how economic calculus can trump any national allegiance airlines might have with their local supplier.
Many smaller single-aisle Airbus A320neo jets, which are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, have suffered glitches too, temporarily grounding some of the workhorse fleet.
Supply chain constraints in the building of new jets has also worsened in recent years as planes that are already flying suck up extra parts after finding problems in service. Airlines themselves typically don’t keep a lot of spare parts on hand in order to keep costs lean.
