Proactive Investors - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:LON:RR.) has faced further criticism over aircraft engine servicing delays, which have prompted cancellations at British Airways (LON:ICAG) and Virgin.
Thai Airways on Tuesday warned engine maintenance by the FTSE 100-listed manufacturer was taking longer than ever.
“We send it for a shop visit and it doesn’t come back,” boss Chai Eamsiri said at an airline meeting in Brunei, discussing Trent (NS:TREN) 1000 engines for the carrier’s 787 Dreamliners.
“It used to be 90 days. Now it’s longer, toward 120 days,” he warned, adding to pressure on Rolls-Royce after British Airways and Virgin criticised delays over the weekend.
Both had moved to preemptively cut routes next year due to groundings of Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 787s on the back of the delays.
“It’s completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of our customers are having their travel plans cancelled because of the continuing failure of Rolls-Royce,” a British Airways insider, cited by The Times, had commented.
Supply chain constraints have seen Rolls-Royce grapple with sourcing replacement parts for the engines.
A task force had been set up to specifically speed up the delivery of these, Rolls-Royce said on Monday.
Chai Eamsiri signalled Rolls-Royce appeared to be facing too much demand from “every airline” for engine servicing, with the Thai carrier having opted for General Electric (NYSE:GE) engines to power a recent order of 45 787 Dreamliners, placed earlier in the year.