Qantas is planning to resume utilising its A380s on flights between Australia and Los Angeles from January 16. The airline suspended the use of the aircraft on longer routes that regularly required the use of maximum engine thrust as a precautionary measure following the explosion of one of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on an A380 aircraft from Singapore in November.
"Only when we, our manufacturers and our regulators were completely satisfied that it was safe to begin flying the aircraft again did we resume A380 services, initially on London routes only," said Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas. "The decision not to operate Los Angeles services allowed us to gain further operational experience before deploying the A380 on these routes. In close consultation with Rolls-Royce, we are now confident that we can begin flying the A380 to and from Los Angeles without any conditions on the use of maximum engine thrust.
Joyce also reassured passengers that Qantas continues to inspect A380 engines across its network while the routes are gradually being phased back in.