Engine problems ground Japan’s ANA Dreamliner jets

THE troubled Dreamliner jet has run into fresh problems with Japanese airline All Nippon Airlines (ANA) grounding flights because of issues with the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines.

ANA, the largest operator of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, said it was cancelling services to replace compressor blades in the aircraft’s Trent 1000 engines produced by FTSE 100 listed Rolls-Royce.

Shares in the Derby-based engineer fell almost 2pc to 774p on the news that the Japanese carrier had found corrosion on blades inside the engines.

ANA has 49 Dreamliners in services – more than 10pc of the 445 Seattlebuilt 787s that have been delivered so far by Boeing.

So far nine flights using the jet have been cancelled and ANA has indicated that more changes to its flight schedule are likely to follow because of the problem. Rolls competes with US rival General Electric to supply engines for the 787, one of the newest and most advanced airliners in the world, and the British company has almost 40pc of the market.

A spokesman for Rolls said: “We are aware of the situation and are working closely with ANA to minimise the effect on aircraft service disruption.”

The problems are understood to re- late to the way ANA uses the aircraft, with their airline using its 787s for shorter routes. This means that the engines go through more “cycles” than other operators, so the engines in effect age faster than if they were used on longer routes. This accelerates the amount of servicing they need.

It is understood to be too early to tell whether the increased maintenance will have a financial impact on Rolls under its “aftercare” agreement with ANA, but the company generally makes conservative assumptions on these packages, meaning it is unlikely to have much of an impact on its finances.

The Dreamliner had a difficult introduction into airline service. Its first flight was pushed back several times as a host of problems surfaced in the production process, delaying its maiden trip by several years.

ANA took delivery of the first 787 in September 2011, but once the jet began commercial flights further troubles emerged as a result of its advanced technology, which includes the use of composites in the fuselage and lithium batteries.

In January 2013, a fire broke out in an empty Japan 787 parked at Boston airport, caused by the battery. Days later an ANA 787 made an emergency landing after the flight crew received a computer warning of smoke inside an electrical compartment.