Qantas : QF : QFA

The Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that had a mid-air uncontained engine failure after take-off from Singapore in November 2010 has finally returned to Australia.

The aircraft, which has the registration VH-OQA, took off from Singapore's Changi airport on the evening of 21 April and landed in Sydney on the morning of 22 April. It used the same QF32 flight number as the original flight, although this will now be retired. Passengers included Australian media, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Richard de Crespigny, who was the captain of the original flight. "I have absolute confidence in this aircraft," says de Crespigny.

It will return to active service on 28 April on the Sydney-Hong Kong route.

"She's running a little late, by about 18 months," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said before the flight to Sydney. "But looking at the repairs, it has been worth it. She is almost brand new."

Shortly after take-off on 4 November 2010, the aircraft's No 2 engine had an uncontained failure over the Indonesian island of Batam, but the pilots managed to fly the aircraft back to Singapore safely.

Australian investigators have finished collecting data for an investigation into the uncontained failure of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. The data is being analysed and a final report is expected in the third quarter of 2012.

So far, the investigations identified a defect in an oil feed tube as the cause behind an oil fire, which led to the engine failure. The defect caused a section of the oil tube to thin out and crack, leading to an internal engine oil fire that weakened the intermediate pressure turbine disc. This was then separated from the turbine shaft, puncturing the engine case and wing structure.

Repairs took almost 18 months to complete, and used almost 40,000t of tooling and parts. The entire tab of A$139 million ($144 million) was picked up by insurance companies. Another A$95 million came from Rolls-Royce, which supplied the Trent 900 engines, as compensation. ******

"The aircraft, with everything that we have put into it such as the in-flight entertainment, is worth A$300 million. So repairing the aircraft, instead of writing it off, was definitely the right decision for us," says Joyce.

Almost 70,000 man hours went into the repairs, which were conducted at the SIA Engineering A380 hangar in Singapore. Most of this focused on damage to the left wing between ribs six and 13, primarily on the forward spar and upper and lower wing sections.

"At the start of the project, we had to get as much information as possible. There was a lot of pressure to get the repairs going as soon as we could. But we made a conscious decision to relax and examine this as closely as possible and make the right decisions," says Alan Milne, head of the Qantas integrated operations centre.

Much of the work entailed fixing a custom made patch to the upper wing skin, which was pierced by debris from the No 2 engine. Part of the front spar and lower wing skin was also replaced. Inside the wing, various components were replaced including harnesses, fairings, flaps, fuel pipes, and various other hydraulic and electrical systems. All four engines were also replaced.

All of this added almost 200kg (Sevrien : Non ! 94 kg, ... soit légèrement plus de 200 lbs 'avoirdupoids') to the aircraft's weight, but Airbus and Qantas officials say that this will have negligible impact on the aircraft's performance.

After the repairs, the aircraft was put through a test schedule usually reserved for brand new aircraft. This included a four-hour long test flight, in which Qantas and Airbus pilots took the aircraft to 43,000ft. There was also a second test flight to test cabin equipment.

"The aircraft is now as good as new," says Derek Blackham, Airbus director of customer support and services. "That's what we planned from the start of this project and that's what we've got."

Il y a des chiens qui devraient arrêter d'aboyer sans savoir. Ils jacassent déjà assez sans savoir . Ils sont tolérés. C'est très bien. Mais cela commence à suffire ! ;)

Qantas A380 repairs added less weight than expected to aircraft



Repairs to the Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that had an uncontained engine failure in November 2010 added only 94kg to the weight of the aircraft.

This was far less than originally anticipated, says Airbus, with the airframer and Australia's flag carrier agreeing at the start of the project that the "weight impact" of the repairs would not exceed 250kg.

Earlier reports by Flightglobal Pro had put the additional weight at 200kg, but Airbus clarifies that the actual weight added to the aircraft was far less at 94kg.

"This was achieved due to 'as-new' replacement parts being used wherever possible. This very small additional weight impact was a considerable achievement," adds Airbus.

The overall performance of the aircraft, including its range and efficiency, is unlikely to be affected by the additional weight, says Airbus.

The aircraft, which has the registration VH-OQA, had a mid-air uncontained engine failure after take-off from Singapore in November 2010. Repairs were completed in April, and the aircraft returned to Sydney on 22 April.

Australian investigators have finished collecting data for an investigation into the uncontained failure of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. The data is being analysed and a final report is expected in the third quarter of 2012.

So far, the investigations identified a defect in an oil feed tube as the cause behind an oil fire, which led to the engine failure. The defect caused a section of the oil tube to thin out and crack, leading to an internal engine oil fire that weakened the intermediate pressure turbine disc. This was then separated from the turbine shaft, puncturing the engine case and wing structure.

Airbus and Qantas overcame technical and logistical challenges in A380 repairs

Qantas Airways and Airbus engineers faced both technical and logistical challenges in restoring its first A380 back to virtually brand-new condition after the aircraft's uncontained engine failure in November 2010.

The aircraft, which has the registration VH-OQA, suffered the mid-air failure after take-off from Singapore. Repairs were completed almost 18 months after the incident, and the aircraft returned to Sydney on 22 April.

"The repair-rebuild was unique in terms of the quantity and the size, but not the philosophies. Overall the repair principles used throughout are based on standard practices as performed regularly by the experienced Airbus teams, with the main differences here being related to the larger scale," says Airbus.

"The challenges and achievements were not just technical but logistical, especially in having to move such large parts around the world, out of normal sequence. These had to be packed, shipped out and reassembled in Singapore in somebody else's hangar."

Airbus says that it undertook a damage assessment as soon as it was granted access by the authorities. This first stage took six weeks, during which a decision was made that the aircraft would be repaired instead of being written off, says Qantas integrated operations centre head Alan Milne.

It was then determined that the aircraft could not be temporarily repaired and returned to a home base or maintenance centre due to the complexity of the project, and because the repair and testing required would have taken just as long as the complete rebuilding work.

Airbus provided a repair proposal in February 2011, and it signed a contract with Qantas in May 2011 that led to the second phase of the project when the A380 had to be stress-jacked. A separate contract was signed with SIA Engineering for hangar access - initially for the bespoke 'Number 6' A380 hangar at Changi airport for the stress-jacking phase, and subsequently the Number 1 Boeing 747 hangar for third phase of the project for completion activities, which did not require the aircraft to be stress-jacked.

"We had to get the aircraft back in factory condition," says Airbus director of customer support and services Derek Blackham. "The key area of Phase 2 was when the aircraft was stress-jacked, it had to be at a zero-g state so that there is no undue stress during the repairs."

Airbus loaded the dedicated stress-jacking equipment into 19 lorries and began to ship them to Singapore before the agreement. The aircraft was rolled into hangar 6 on 6 July 2011 and was rolled out on 22 October - a day before the scheduled roll-out date and six months after the agreement was signed. Work then continued either outside on the apron or in the Number 1 hangar. Around 70,000 production man-hours were used for the repair, says Airbus.

The repairs entailed replacing the A380's damaged inboard left-hand Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine and pylon. All damaged internal stringers and equipment were repaired or replaced, and all damaged flaps and fairings were replaced.

The fuselage's glare material and metal panels were repaired by blending where impact had occurred, and the electrical wiring system for the port wing was completely replaced. A section of the top skin was removed and a specific repair plate machined and installed.

"For this, Airbus performed [three-dimensional] laser-scanning so that the upper wing geometry was maintained throughout the repair, and in accordance with the A380's 3D digital design database. The result is a totally flush surface for the wing airflow," says the airfamer.

A specific section of the front spar was newly manufactured, customised and machined to fit the top skin repair, replacing the damaged section. Airbus says that the A380's spar design allowed the entire section of damaged spar to be removed by simply unfastening it at the natural production joints and then re-fastening the new replacement section into position.

For the lower skin panel repairs, Airbus says that external butt-straps on the lower skin of rib 6 and rib 13 are the only visible evidence of the repair. The butt straps are the joint external "doubler", a reinforcement where the two plates join. The profile is blended for a smooth aerodynamic surface to the airflow, says Airbus.

The total weight added by the repairs was 94kg, far less than the 250kg allowed for in the original agreement between Qantas and Airbus.

"This was achieved due to 'as-new' replacement parts being used wherever possible. This very small additional weight impact was a considerable achievement," says Airbus. "The aircraft's overall performance - range and efficiency - is expected to be unaffected."

After the repairs, Airbus and Qantas crew conducted a comprehensive ground and flight test of the aircraft. The standards would not be less than specified in the Airbus production aircraft test manual, they said. The tests included static checks, engine runs, taxi check and rejected take-off, and a technical flight. Qantas also performed a performance measurement flight in Sydney with the support of Airbus flight test engineers.

The entire tab of A$139 million ($144 million) was picked up by insurance companies. Another A$95 million came from Rolls-Royce, which supplied the Trent 900 engines, as compensation.

The repair was audited by Airbus, Qantas, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and Organisme pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile throughout the process. There were about eight audits in total, with no significant findings.

After a handover ceremony, the aircraft took off from Singapore's Changi airport on 21 April as flight QF32 - the same number it used when the incident happened. It landed in landed in Sydney on 22 April, and will return to active service on 28 April on the Sydney-Hong Kong route.

"She's running a little late, by about 18 months," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said before the flight to Sydney. "But looking at the repairs, it has been worth it. She is almost brand new."

Jeannot a écrit:La réparation du 380 de Qantas a jouté moins de poids que prévu initialement

Qantas A380 repairs added less weight than expected to aircraft



Repairs to the Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that had an uncontained engine failure in November 2010 added only 94kg to the weight of the aircraft.

This was far less than originally anticipated, says Airbus, with the airframer and Australia's flag carrier agreeing at the start of the project that the "weight impact" of the repairs would not exceed 250kg.

Earlier reports by Flightglobal Pro had put the additional weight at 200kg, but Airbus clarifies that the actual weight added to the aircraft was far less at 94kg. ******

"This was achieved due to 'as-new' replacement parts being used wherever possible. This very small additional weight impact was a considerable achievement," adds Airbus.

The overall performance of the aircraft, including its range and efficiency, is unlikely to be affected by the additional weight, says Airbus.

The aircraft, which has the registration VH-OQA, had a mid-air uncontained engine failure after take-off from Singapore in November 2010. Repairs were completed in April, and the aircraft returned to Sydney on 22 April.

Australian investigators have finished collecting data for an investigation into the uncontained failure of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. The data is being analysed and a final report is expected in the third quarter of 2012.

So far, the investigations identified a defect in an oil feed tube as the cause behind an oil fire, which led to the engine failure. The defect caused a section of the oil tube to thin out and crack, leading to an internal engine oil fire that weakened the intermediate pressure turbine disc. This was then separated from the turbine shaft, puncturing the engine case and wing structure.

Un embonpoint de 94 kgs n'est pas énorme par rapport aux dégâts sur l'aile !!!

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] [/url]

Repairs to the Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that had an uncontained engine failure in November 2010 added only 94kg to the weight of the aircraft.

This was far less than originally anticipated, says Airbus, with the airframer and Australia's flag carrier agreeing at the start of the project that the "weight impact" of the repairs would not exceed 250kg.

Earlier reports by Flightglobal Pro had put the additional weight at 200kg, but Airbus clarifies that the actual weight added to the aircraft was far less at 94kg.

"This was achieved due to 'as-new' replacement parts being used wherever possible. This very small additional weight impact was a considerable achievement," adds Airbus.

The overall performance of the aircraft, including its range and efficiency, is unlikely to be affected by the additional weight, says Airbus......

Jeannot a écrit:Airbus et Qantas ont relevé des challenges techniques pour réparer le 380 VH-OQA.

Airbus and Qantas overcame technical and logistical challenges in A380 repairs

Qantas Airways and Airbus engineers faced both technical and logistical challenges in restoring its first A380 back to virtually brand-new condition after the aircraft's uncontained engine failure in November 2010.

The aircraft, which has the registration VH-OQA, suffered the mid-air failure after take-off from Singapore. Repairs were completed almost 18 months after the incident, and the aircraft returned to Sydney on 22 April.

"The repair-rebuild was unique in terms of the quantity and the size, but not the philosophies. Overall the repair principles used throughout are based on standard practices as performed regularly by the experienced Airbus teams, with the main differences here being related to the larger scale," says Airbus.

"The challenges and achievements were not just technical but logistical, especially in having to move such large parts around the world, out of normal sequence. These had to be packed, shipped out and reassembled in Singapore in somebody else's hangar."

Airbus says that it undertook a damage assessment as soon as it was granted access by the authorities. This first stage took six weeks, during which a decision was made that the aircraft would be repaired instead of being written off, says Qantas integrated operations centre head Alan Milne.

It was then determined that the aircraft could not be temporarily repaired and returned to a home base or maintenance centre due to the complexity of the project, and because the repair and testing required would have taken just as long as the complete rebuilding work.

Airbus provided a repair proposal in February 2011, and it signed a contract with Qantas in May 2011 that led to the second phase of the project when the A380 had to be stress-jacked. A separate contract was signed with SIA Engineering for hangar access - initially for the bespoke 'Number 6' A380 hangar at Changi airport for the stress-jacking phase, and subsequently the Number 1 Boeing 747 hangar for third phase of the project for completion activities, which did not require the aircraft to be stress-jacked.

"We had to get the aircraft back in factory condition," says Airbus director of customer support and services Derek Blackham. "The key area of Phase 2 was when the aircraft was stress-jacked, it had to be at a zero-g state so that there is no undue stress during the repairs."

Airbus loaded the dedicated stress-jacking equipment into 19 lorries and began to ship them to Singapore before the agreement. The aircraft was rolled into hangar 6 on 6 July 2011 and was rolled out on 22 October - a day before the scheduled roll-out date and six months after the agreement was signed. Work then continued either outside on the apron or in the Number 1 hangar. Around 70,000 production man-hours were used for the repair, says Airbus.

The repairs entailed replacing the A380's damaged inboard left-hand Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine and pylon. All damaged internal stringers and equipment were repaired or replaced, and all damaged flaps and fairings were replaced.

The fuselage's glare material and metal panels were repaired by blending where impact had occurred, and the electrical wiring system for the port wing was completely replaced. A section of the top skin was removed and a specific repair plate machined and installed.

"For this, Airbus performed [three-dimensional] laser-scanning so that the upper wing geometry was maintained throughout the repair, and in accordance with the A380's 3D digital design database. The result is a totally flush surface for the wing airflow," says the airfamer.

A specific section of the front spar was newly manufactured, customised and machined to fit the top skin repair, replacing the damaged section. Airbus says that the A380's spar design allowed the entire section of damaged spar to be removed by simply unfastening it at the natural production joints and then re-fastening the new replacement section into position.

For the lower skin panel repairs, Airbus says that external butt-straps on the lower skin of rib 6 and rib 13 are the only visible evidence of the repair. The butt straps are the joint external "doubler", a reinforcement where the two plates join. The profile is blended for a smooth aerodynamic surface to the airflow, says Airbus.

The total weight added by the repairs was 94kg, far less than the 250kg allowed for in the original agreement between Qantas and Airbus.

"This was achieved due to 'as-new' replacement parts being used wherever possible. This very small additional weight impact was a considerable achievement," says Airbus. "The aircraft's overall performance - range and efficiency - is expected to be unaffected."

After the repairs, Airbus and Qantas crew conducted a comprehensive ground and flight test of the aircraft. The standards would not be less than specified in the Airbus production aircraft test manual, they said. The tests included static checks, engine runs, taxi check and rejected take-off, and a technical flight. Qantas also performed a performance measurement flight in Sydney with the support of Airbus flight test engineers.

The entire tab of A$139 million ($144 million) was picked up by insurance companies. Another A$95 million came from Rolls-Royce, which supplied the Trent 900 engines, as compensation.

The repair was audited by Airbus, Qantas, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and Organisme pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile throughout the process. There were about eight audits in total, with no significant findings.******

After a handover ceremony, the aircraft took off from Singapore's Changi airport on 21 April as flight QF32 - the same number it used when the incident happened. It landed in landed in Sydney on 22 April, and will return to active service on 28 April on the Sydney-Hong Kong route.

"She's running a little late, by about 18 months," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said before the flight to Sydney. "But looking at the repairs, it has been worth it. She is almost brand new."

Jeannot a écrit:Pas inintéressant à lire !

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Qantas today announced it will increase Airbus A330 services on its Perth–Melbourne route from 15 October 2012.
Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said the changes were a direct response to the growing demand for premium travel to Perth from both business and leisure passengers.
“Qantas will increase A330 services from 44 services per week to 68 services per week replacing flights currently operated by Boeing 767 aircraft. Services operated by internationally configured Airbus A330s will increase from 12 per week to 37 per week,” said Mr Strambi.
“Qantas’ internationally configured Airbus A330 aircraft offer our award winning Skybed seats in business class and on-demand seat back in-flight entertainment throughout the business and economy cabins.

La compagnie aérienne australienne Qantas Airways est sur le point de conclure une alliance avec Emirates pour relancer sa branche des vols internationaux, chroniquement déficitaire, a rapporté jeudi la presse australienne.
© 2012 AFP

The embattled chief of Qantas Airways Alan Joyce said Monday he would forgo any bonus or pay rise, joining a growing list of high-profile top executives at Australian companies who are doing the same.
© 2012 AFP

Qantas has cancelled an order for 35 Boeing 787-9 aircraft to reduce capital expenditure.

Deliveries of 15 787-8s to Jetstar, its low-cost subsidiary, will continue as planned, adds Australia's flag carrier.

The 787-8s will allow the transfer of Airbus A330s from Jetstar to Qantas Domestic, and the eventual retirement of Qantas's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fleet.

The group will retain and bring forward 50 787-9 options and purchase rights by two years, with the aircraft available for delivery from 2016 if needed.

The Oneworld carrier says that the cancellation will help it to reduce capital expenditure commitments by $8.5 billion.

Total cash inflow from the restructuring will be $433 million, with $355 million coming in the 2012/13 financial year alone. These will result in a net impact on underlying profit before tax (PBT) and statutory PBT of approximately $140 million, to be recognised in the first half of 2012/13, says Qantas.

"Qantas continues to practice disciplined capital management and, in the context of returning Qantas International to profit, this is a prudent decision," says chief executive Alan Joyce.

He adds that Qantas has "always maintained flexibility in its fleet plan and made changes when required".

The carrier says that it has "substantially completed" its fleet renewal programme, with 114 new aircraft delivered over the past four years. The average scheduled passenger fleet age is 8.3 years, the lowest since privatisation in 1995.

Qantas has 12 A380s in service across its long-haul network and will complete the reconfiguration of nine Boeing 747-400s by late 2012. Boeing 737-800s will continue to enter the Qantas Domestic fleet, and A330s will be transferred from Jetstar as the 787-8s are delivered to the low-cost carrier.

Jetstar's domestic and Asian fleet requirements will be met over the long term by the existing A320 order book and the arrival of the 787-8s, says Qantas.

Qantas Airways and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] have entered an extensive partnership to collaborate on routes and frequent flyer benefits, shifting the Australian carrier's hub for European flights to Dubai from Singapore.

The partnership will commence in April 2013 and run for 10 years, Qantas said in a statement.

While the alliance marks a major strategic shift for both carriers, rumours of the alliance have circulated for two weeks.

"The 10-year partnership will go beyond codesharing and includes integrated network collaboration with coordinated pricing, sales and scheduling as well as a benefit-sharing model," said Qantas.

The deal stops short, however, of the pair taking equity stakes in each other. It will also see Qantas terminate its joint business with International Airlines Group, parent of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Iberia.

Qantas will launch daily A380 services from Sydney and Melbourne to London through Dubai. Combined, the two will operate 98 weekly services between Australia and Dubai. Qantas will be the only carrier other than Emirates to operate from Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3.

Qantas passengers transiting through Dubai will gain access to Emirates' destinations in Europe and Africa; Emirates passengers will gain access to Qantas's domestic network in Australia.

The carriers' frequent flyer programmes will be aligned, with passengers having access to lounges, priority check-in, priority boarding and other services offered by both airlines.

This is the most significant partnership the Qantas Group has ever formed with another airline, moving past the traditional alliance model to a new level," said Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce. "It will deliver benefits to all parts of the Group."

"We currently have an Asian flying schedule based on travelling via Asia to Europe," Joyce said. "But our Australian business customers want better access to Asia, and we have been looking to address this for some time."

"With European services transiting through Dubai, Qantas's Asian services will no longer be a subsidiary of the 'Kangaroo Route'," he added. "Instead they will be dedicated to connecting Australians with our region, and Asian visitors to Australia."

Jeannot a écrit:Pas certain ! Cette relation entre Qantas et Emirates va faire un géant. Il reste à construire la même chose avec un américain et un européen (et avec la crise il va ya avoir du monde sur le marché) et il n'y aura plus qu'une seule compagnie.