Qantas has kept its A380s out of service as it gives itself more time to inspect the Rolls-Royce engines in its A380 fleet.
The airline has confirmed that it has removed three engines for further examination.
Engineers have been focusing on how the engines perform under operational conditions, as opposed to the original out-of-factory expectations.
In a statement, the airline said; “Qantas’ A380 aircraft will not return to service until there is complete certainty that the fleet can operate safely.”
In light of the inspections, Qantas has shuffled its fleet around to ensure the continuity of services.
Boeing 747s have been replaced by A330s on the Sydney to Narita route and A330s have been replaced by B767s on Perth to Singapore services. B747s have also been replaced by A330s on the Sydney to Hong Kong route. These changes will enable Qantas to operate 747s on long-haul international services previously operated by the A380.
For the period of 5 to 11 November, Qantas operated 505 of the 512 scheduled services across its international network.