Australia's biggest carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. has replaced 24 engines on its fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbos after one of them last year suffered a midair engine explosion near Singapore, its chief executive said Monday.
The A380 damaged in November's incident is expected to return to service by February after repairs costing A$100 million are completed, Alan Joyce said in Singapore on the sidelines of an International Air Transport Association event.
The repair costs will be borne by insurance, while Qantas' other aircraft are flying normally, he said.
Joyce's comments follow a Australian Transport Safety Bureau report last month that said a manufacturing defect in the pipes of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine had led to the engine explosion which forced the Sydney-bound Qantas A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
Qantas had temporarily grounded all its A380 planes after the incident.
Asked about plans by rival Singapore Airlines Ltd. (C6L.SG) to start a short- and long-haul low fare airline, Joyce said: "Imitation is the best form of flattery."
The proposed Singapore Airlines low-fare unit is expected to compete with Jetstar, a unit of Qantas and Malaysia's AirAsia X, which is owned by AirAsia Bhd.
The A380 damaged in November's incident is expected to return to service by February after repairs costing A$100 million are completed, Alan Joyce said in Singapore on the sidelines of an International Air Transport Association event.
The repair costs will be borne by insurance, while Qantas' other aircraft are flying normally, he said.
Joyce's comments follow a Australian Transport Safety Bureau report last month that said a manufacturing defect in the pipes of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine had led to the engine explosion which forced the Sydney-bound Qantas A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
Qantas had temporarily grounded all its A380 planes after the incident.
Asked about plans by rival Singapore Airlines Ltd. (C6L.SG) to start a short- and long-haul low fare airline, Joyce said: "Imitation is the best form of flattery."
The proposed Singapore Airlines low-fare unit is expected to compete with Jetstar, a unit of Qantas and Malaysia's AirAsia X, which is owned by AirAsia Bhd.
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