SQ fleet cleared. Different inspection regime to QANTAS

[Sprucegoose]

A technical question. How is the SQ inspections performed more quickly than Qantas?

Are they to the same agreed procedure issued by Rolls Royce or other authority.

Cheers

Spruce

 

[samh004]

Perhaps the SQ fleet is mainly in SIN right now, while QF has 3 a/c in LAX, 1 in Australia, 1 in SIN (which will be out of action for a bit anyway) and 1 in Germany, so they’re not all as easily accessible.

That and an official cause hasn’t actually been specified yet, so RR have suggested checks in certain areas, but QF will want to figure the cause out and be extra cautious until then.

 

[markis10]

Different countries have different standards for airworthiness and as a result different inspection rules, given the cause of the issue with the QF engine is not yet known, I am puzzled as to how an inspection could be done specifically to address that issue.

Its more than likely a cursory inspection to make sure there is nothing obvious, although I note they are not back to normal operations despite what they say.

 

[jb747]

Announce grounding. Shine torch in back end. Go flying. Media thinks you're wonderful.

I can't understand it either. They are a marginally different engine, but I can't see how they would take less than the 8-12 hours per engine that the procedure requires.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Yes thanks for the insightful comments.

I can only add that SIN is not the open market system they portray. When you deal with SIA you are effectively dealing with the Singapore Government, also controls the regulatory authorities. All very much the one and the same.

We have a clearer separation of commercial and regulatory authorities although some will see some blurring here, fundamentally they are separately accountable.

Cheers

Spruce

 

[Groundfeeder]

Poster better catch up on todays news as SQ has grounded 3 x A380.

 

[JohnK]

What has changed in 2 days? Is this a case of poor reporting or the airline not doing thorough checks first time round?

Singapore Airlines says no issue with its A380 engines

Singapore Airlines said on Monday it had completed engine inspections on all its Airbus A380 aircraft and did not find any issues of concern.

Singapore Airlines pulls 3 superjumbos after tests show engine faults

Tests uncovered oil stains in three Rolls-Royce engines on Singapore Airlines' A380 superjumbos, prompting the airline to yank the planes from service Wednesday just two days after Qantas announced troubling oil leaks on its A380s.

 

[pauly7]

Wow Singapore is getting SLAMMED In the media now, on ABC, the line being taken is their safety standards are lower than Qantas.

Suddenly Qantas is cast as the hero, RR the villain and Singapore the negligent!

 

[Moody]

Wow Singapore is getting SLAMMED In the media now, on ABC, the line being taken is their safety standards are lower than Qantas.

Suddenly Qantas is cast as the hero, RR the villain and Singapore the negligent!

And what is really happening is that RR, Qantas, Singapore, and probably other airlines are all sharing information about what they have found and what they are doing about it, and we just get the ill-informed headline of the day.

Do you think any airline wants to be the first to have an A380 hull loss? It would be as fatal for the airline as the passengers on board ...

 

[UP4014]

Notice how Singapore flew their two 380's that were grounded here back to Singapore (empty) for the engine checks.

No off shore maintenance for them

Matt

 

[NM]

Notice how Singapore flew their two 380's that were grounded here back to Singapore (empty) for the engine checks.

No off shore maintenance for them

Matt

It would certainly be cheaper than flying the spare engines to Australia as I expect RR is fresh out of stock of spare Trent 900 series donks in Australia.

 

[oz_mark]

Notice how Singapore flew their two 380's that were grounded here back to Singapore (empty) for the engine checks.

No off shore maintenance for them

I believe the SQ engine maintenance is outsourced to RR (as are the QF ones)

 

[UP4014]

It was meant to be a rhetorical question. But still, they didn't fly the planes back to the engine factory because it might be cheaper than freighting a engine, but back to Singapore for no off shore maintenance. :mrgreen:

Matt
PS, just a stir, no need to reply.

 

[markis10]

LH have now pulled an engine as well, supposedly not connected to the QF issue:

Lufthansa replaces problem engine on A380 | News.com.au

 

[oz_mark]

Given the SQ update, it looks like the SQ birds are out of action for a week or so:

11 November 2010

Singapore Airlines will be carrying out ongoing precautionary inspections on its Airbus A380 fleet, in full compliance with a directive from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and guidance from engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.

In addition, we are carrying out precautionary engine changes on three A380 aircraft.

These inspections and engine changes are not expected to affect flight timings. Schedules are due to remain as normal.

In order to maintain a normal schedule and minimise disruptions to our customers, we will be deploying Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777s, where necessary, in place of A380s on certain flights to/ from Sydney and Melbourne.

Details are as follows (ALL TIMES LISTED ARE LOCAL).

10 - 11 November 2010

• SQ 221, Singapore-Sydney, scheduled to depart 2035hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.
• SQ 227, Singapore-Melbourne, scheduled to depart 2100hrs, will be operated by a B747-400 aircraft.

11 – 12 November 2010

• SQ 212, Sydney – Singapore, scheduled to depart 0915hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.
• SQ 238, Melbourne – Singapore, scheduled to depart 1110hrs, will be operated by a B747-400 aircraft.

12 – 16 November 2010

• SQ 221, Singapore - Sydney, scheduled to depart 2035hrs, will be operated by a B747-400 aircraft.
• SQ 227, Singapore – Melbourne, scheduled to depart 2100hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

12 - 17 November 2010

• SQ 222, Sydney – Singapore, scheduled to depart 1630hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.
• SQ 231, Singapore – Sydney, scheduled to depart 0035hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

13 – 17 November 2010

• SQ 212, Sydney – Singapore, scheduled to depart 0915hrs, will be operated by a B747-400 aircraft.
• SQ 238, Melbourne – Singapore, scheduled to depart 1110hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

Singapore Airlines will also mount the following supplementary flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne on these days:

12 – 14 November 2010

• SQ 261, Singapore - Melbourne, scheduled to depart 2115hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

13 – 15 November 2010

• SQ 262, Melbourne - Singapore, scheduled to depart 1535hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

12 – 15 November 2010

• SQ 265, Singapore - Sydney, scheduled to depart 0050hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.
• SQ 266, Sydney - Singapore, scheduled to depart 1615hrs, will be operated by a B777-300 aircraft.

We apologise to affected customers for the inconvenience that may result and seek their understanding.

 

[jb747]

In this instance, I think that ferrying the aircraft anywhere is a pretty disgraceful thing to be doing.

 

[Sprucegoose]

In this instance, I think that ferrying the aircraft anywhere is a pretty disgraceful thing to be doing.

If you are alluding to a safety issue I wholeheartedly agree