Cathay Pacific Diversion Sparks Engine Investigations

Cathay Pacific has found engine component issues affecting the carrier’s Airbus A350s. The airline’s A350 fleet is powered by Rolls Royce XWB-84 engines for the -900 and XWB-97s for the -1000 variant. 

The initial call to concern was due to Cathay Pacific flight CX383 returning to Hong Kong instead of its intended destination of Zurich on Sunday. According to Bloomberg, the airline stated the flight returned to Hong Kong due to engine troubles. Flight 383 was operated by ship B-LXI, an Airbus A350-1000 delivered to the carrier In February 2019, according to AirFleets.net. 

Cathay Pacific did not specifically state which engine component sustained issues requiring it to return to Hong Kong, however, it noted that the carrier’s entire fleet of 48 A350s would need to be inspected and the failed component replaced. 

In an effort to replace the parts in a timely and efficient manner, the carrier announced the cancellation of 48 flights continuing into Tuesday, September 3. According to FlightRadar24, CX524 to Tokyo Narita and CX659 to Singapore on Tuesday are both operated by Airbus A350-900 aircraft and appear to be part of the airline’s cancellations. 

In a statement to the Financial Times, Cathay confirmed that the carrier has the spare parts required to replace the affected components in the engines; with the correction not expected to take an extended period of time. While this is the first of component failures for the Rolls Royce XWB series engines, Emirates President Tim Clark has been a public voice speaking out against the manufacturer’s XWB engine due to additional maintenance requirements and associated costs.

Not All Bad News

The positive for Airbus, Rolls Royce, and engine operators is that this fix, at the time of writing, does not require extensive ground time for the aircraft. This is in significant contrast to the troubles involving the PW1100G-JM engines which have grounded jets for several months. 

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Zach Cooke

Zach’s love for aviation began when he was in elementary school with a flight sim and model planes. This passion for being in the air only intensified throughout high school when he earned his Private Pilot Certificate. He then attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, earning his certificates and ratings to later flight instruct and share his passion for aviation with others. He now resides in the North East living out his dream as an airline pilot.

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