By Anna Chaberska and Alban Kacher
(Reuters) -Several airlines are carrying out precautionary inspections on their Airbus A350 fleets after Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific found 15 planes that needed fuel line repairs following the in-flight failure of an engine part.
The issue occurred on a five-year-old Airbus A350-1000, which uses Rolls-Royce (OTC:RYCEY)'s Trent XWB-97 engines, but some carriers are also inspecting the more popular A350-900 aircraft which use a different engine model.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Thursday gave airlines between three and 30 days to carry out visual checks and measurements on the fuel houses in A350-1000 engines. The A350-900 is not affected.
Here is what airlines are doing, divided by the model of the aircraft:
A350-1000
Cathay Pacific, which has 48 A350 jets, identified 15 aircraft that required the replacement of engine components that were set to be completed by Saturday. It did not specify which models were being repaired.
Japan Airlines (JAL), which has five new A350-1000s, said on Thursday it had inspected those engines and found no defects. It will do additional inspections on the aircraft based on a Service Bulletin issued by Rolls-Royce.
Qatar Airways said on Friday it was carrying out inspections of its 24 A350-1000s after it received a directive from EASA and Rolls-Royce.
UAE's Etihad Airways, which has five A350-1000s, said it was inspecting engines across its A350 fleet and had so far not found issues.
Virgin Atlantic, which operates 12 A350-1000s, said on Friday it has received an Airworthiness Directive to inspect the XWB engines, adding that it is working closely with Airbus and Rolls Royce (LON:RR). Inspections should cause "minimal disruptions" to the group's flying programme, it said.
British Airways, which has 18 A350-1000s, has not commented on the situation.
A350-900
A spokesperson for JAL said the Tokyo-based carrier had also carried out voluntary inspections of its A350-900 aircraft as a precaution and no problems were found.
Air China (OTC:AIRYY), a major A350-900 operator, will perform general engine checks, reported Caixin, a Chinese business and economics publication.
Singapore Airlines (OTC:SINGY), which has a fleet of 63 A350-900 planes, said it was inspecting the engines on its aircraft but there was no impact on flights.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), which has 30 A350-900s, said the airline runs its global operation "with the high standard of care for safety, reliability and care that we always do".
Thai Airways, which has 23 of them, said its technicians continuously review the situation and make engine checks regularly.