Originally Posted By Mr X Just for those of you (us) who might travel the polar routes to fantastic destinations like Tokyo Disneyland, you might want to know what the FAA has concluded about a potentially deadly flaw in the engines of the Boeing 777 fleet. Yikes. (and *extra* yikes, since I fly "polar" on my way home every time I visit!) <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/30/national/main5834754.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.cbsnews.com/stories...54.shtml</a> "More than 130 Boeing jetliners whose engines face the risk of icing up in rare conditions can continue flying long transcontinental flights until early 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week in a move that rejected the warnings of safety experts and pilots. Two suspect parts in the Rolls-Royce engine used by the Boeing 777 airliners will be replaced in 2011. Federal regulators said the interim safety measures for the planes were sufficient to prevent mishaps, such as midair engine shutdowns or emergency descents, according to a Wall Street Journal report Monday." Yikes, again! Didn't one already crash at Heathrow due to this???? Here's an interesting factoid I discovered while perusing the chatboards about this, not ALL the 777 jets are equipped with those fatally flawed Rolls Royce engines, some of them have GE engines. What I wonder is, IF the GE engines are free of the flaw, why not reassign all of THOSE planes to the polar routes, in the interim. Seems like a logical stop-gap. ***Two suspect parts in the Rolls-Royce engine used by the Boeing 777 airliners will be replaced in 2011.*** Not to be too repetitive about it, and I do realize the long odds of something bad happening, but still...doesn't that sort of a plan scream "cost savings!"? Why not replace the potentially deadly parts RIGHT NOW???? And also, I wonder if when I make my next reservation if I can request a "GE only" jet??
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Here's an interesting factoid I discovered while perusing the chatboards about this, not ALL the 777 jets are equipped with those fatally flawed Rolls Royce engines, some of them have GE engines. >>> ... and some have Pratt & Whitney engines. <<< What I wonder is, IF the GE engines are free of the flaw, why not reassign all of THOSE planes to the polar routes, in the interim. Seems like a logical stop-gap. >>> This is not practical because each airline generally, if not always, chooses a single engine provider per aircraft series. Engines are a major investment in many ways: not only are they about a quarter the cost of a new airplane, there's a big investment in spare parts, spare engines, training, and so on where it would be too expensive for a single airline to have to deal with more than one type of engine for the same aircraft. <<< And also, I wonder if when I make my next reservation if I can request a "GE only" jet?? >>> Absolutely! Just fly on an airline that chose GE engines for their 777 fleet. Among US 777 operators, Continental has all GE engines. Delta and American have Rolls Royce, and United has Pratt and Whitney.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Any idea what ANA and JAL use? I don't know for a fact, but since you asked, I did what I always do: Google. One story I read talked about both airlines replacing defective turbine blades in their 777 Pratt and Whitney engines: "TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. said on Thursday they plan to replace turbine blades in Pratt & Whitney engines in Boeing Co. 777 aircraft as a precaution. The move follows a series of engine problems that the airlines say resulted from the maker's manufacturing process. ANA said in a statement it had found broken high-pressure turbine blades in two engines that were shut down while planes were in flight in September and October. JAL said it had one similar problem earlier this year..."
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder The Heathrow crash landing was blamed on fuel flow problems. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_38" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...light_38</a>
Originally Posted By Mr X Thanks, Russ (although that particular article doesn't make me feel all that great about Pratt & Whitney either lol). Oh well, roll the dice.
