Rolls-Royce's Dreamliner glitch ‘seriously disruptive’ to Virgin

All 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners operated by Virgin Atlantic are affected by faults with Rolls-Royce engines that power the wide-body planes, according to the carrier. Grounding the Trent 1000 turbines for fixes has been “seriously disruptive,” forcing Virgin to find a number of workarounds, including calling on partner Delta Air Lines and leasing extra aircraft, Shai Weiss, the company’s CFO said. As many as 3 of the 258-seat 787-9s have been taken out of service at one time. Durability issues with components used in the Dreamliner engine and the Trent 900 that powers Airbus A380 superjumbos cost Rolls-Royce GBP227m (US$314m) in charges last year and wiped GBP170m pounds from cash flow, the manufacturer said Wednesday. The cash impact could double this year as maintenance activity peaks. <br/>