Airbus states removal of engines from A380 assembly line will not hurt production

Airbus stated Rolls-Royce's plans to take engines from A380s in its assembly line will not disrupt production (Reuters, 16-Nov-2010). There were concerns the removal of the engines would mean Airbus would not be able to transfer the A380s from the assembly plant in Toulouse to the finishing facility in Germany. Qantas confirmed it will take eight new Trent 900 engines from two new A380s on the production line to replace faulty engines on its operational A380s (The Australian, 17-Nov-2010/The Australian Financial Review, 18-Nov-2010). Spokeswoman Olivia Wirth confirmed the carrier has replaced three engines and is now assessing all other A380 engines. The carrier may reportedly have to replace 10 engines in total. There are now concerns Qantas will not return its A380s to service until Dec-2010 at the earliest. Airbus CEO Tom Enders stated last week that the manufacturer could deliver a further six A380s by early 2011. The disruptions may not affect deliveries in 2011 (Financial Times Deutschland/Bloomberg, 17-Nov-2010).