Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) has been forced to cancel a number of flights operated by B787-9s due to issues with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the carrier announced in a stock market filing.
"Rolls-Royce has informed Air New Zealand that some of its engines on the Boeing 787-9 fleet will require maintenance sooner than previously advised and that it does not have any spare engines available while that maintenance work is undertaken," Air New Zealand stated.
The carrier also announced it will look for replacement capacity, which could mean wet-leasing capacity from other companies. The cancellations and delays are expected to last a couple weeks.
In the last few days, Air New Zealand flights from Auckland International to Tokyo Narita and Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini operated by B787-9s were forced to return after experiencing mechanical and possibly engine-related issues shortly after take-off. Both incidents are currently under investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.
In 2016, ANA - All Nippon Airways experienced issues with Trent 1000 engines. The Japanese carrier uses B787-9s on shorter legs, which are more demanding for the engines than the long-haul segments flown by Air New Zealand. The BBC reported that Virgin Atlantic has also faced problems with its Trent 1000-powered B789s.
According to the ch-aviation airlines module, the New Zealandic carrier currently operates a fleet of eleven B787-9s, all powered with Trent 1000 units.
