Emirates ends A380 delivery standoff after rolls agrees to fund fix

Emirates said it struck a deal to accept deliveries of A380 jets powered by Rolls-Royce Holdings engines after the UK manufacturer agreed to fund measures to address performance and maintenance concerns. Emirates will take the first double-decker with Trent 900 engines from Rolls-Royce on Dec. 16, two weeks later than planned, in light of an agreement involving both technical and commercial elements, Tim Clark, the airline’s president, said Wednesday in London. “There were some issues on performance, but we’ve come to a satisfactory conclusion,” Clark said. “Rolls are taking care of everything, so we are neutral to the repercussions.” Emirates, the biggest operator of the A380, is due to take receipt of 50 of the Airbus Group SE planes equipped with Rolls-Royce engines after switching from the competing GP7000 turbine manufactured by an alliance of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, which powered its first 90 aircraft. Clark said the engine malady involved a “higher intervention rate” in maintaining the Rolls engines, understood to involve unanticipated levels of wear to fan blades stemming from their deployment in Dubai’s desert climate. Rolls-Royce said that it’s working with Emirates and Airbus on getting the A380s into service.<br/>