Compensation on cards for Air NZ
Air New Zealand will probably seek compensation for having to ground two of its Dreamliners, aviation experts say.
Nine of Air New Zealand’s Rollsroyce Trent 1000 engines, fitted to its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, are required to be inspected by April 20 under a directive issued by European regulator the European Aviation Safety Agency.
The issue, which relates to problems with engine turbine blades wearing out sooner than expected, has affected airlines worldwide.
Air New Zealand spokeswoman Kelly Kilgour said its checks were completed last month and as a result two Dreamliners had been temporarily removed from service while engines underwent maintenance work at a Rolls-royce facility in Singapore.
The maintenance schedule has resulted in Air New Zealand rescheduling and cancelling flights, affecting some 9000 customers.
Some long-haul flights serviced by the airline’s Dreamliners are also doing ‘‘dog legs’’ on their routes in order to land and refuel. The strategy was adopted to avoid having to reduce the amount of cargo and the number of passengers planes could carry.
An order by the United States Federal Aviation Administration placed limitations on aircraft fitted with the engines, preventing them from being operated in conditions that would accelerate wear on the engines.
Air New Zealand would not say whether it would seek compensation for the disruptions. ‘‘Any compensation discussions are naturally commercially sensitive,’’ Kilgour said.
The Nzx-listed company, which is 52 per cent state-owned, became the first airline in the world to take delivery of the 787-9 in July 2014. It now has 11 Dreamliners in its fleet with two more on order.
Forsyth Barr head of research Andy Bowley said he would expect there to be a ‘‘small, immaterial financial hit’’ on Air New Zealand’s 2018 financial result given the costs the airline had incurred from the disruption.
‘‘Though I’d expect compensation to be paid at a later date,’’ Bowley said.
Air New Zealand would probably have repair and replace conditions in its contract with Rolls-royce, as well as cost reimbursement clauses for temporary leased aircraft and other costs incurred as a result of the engine issues forcing aircraft out of service, he said.
He did not expect Air New Zealand to take legal action against Rolls-royce given the magnitude of the problem and the number of other airlines involved.
Former Aviation New Zealand chief executive Irene King, who used to work for Air New Zealand, said she also expected the airline to seek compensation from Rolls-royce.
‘‘I can’t see how Rolls-royce would get away with it,’’ King said.
Historically Air New Zealand sought compensation when aircraft faults arose, she said, adding that being the first customer of the 787-9 would work to Air New Zealand’s advantage.
E tu¯ ’s head of aviation, Anita Rosentreter, said the disruptions meant cabin crew were being trained to work on aircraft they were not familiar with.
The union was also working to ensure crew had as many opportunities to fly as possible, she said.
Crew were on the frontline in dealing with frustrated passengers put out by the disruptions, she said. ‘‘There’s a lot of disruptions so they have to be responding to that and there would be some challenging calls to make.’’