Flightless Birds

摘要

The irony is woefully obvious. Aero engines developed for the newest generation of airliners are designed and built to be super fuel efficient, quiet and environmentally clean. But the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, which powers around 45% of the worldwide Boeing 787 fleet, has been brought down, in part at least, by something as common as air pollution. A large portion of Trent-powered 787s have been affected by the engine reliability issues. Dozens of 787s have been parked airports around the world, their engines removed to be inspected and modified. Air China, Air New Zealand, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among those affected. Air New Zealand has suspended routes from its international network partly because of aircraft shortages caused by the issue after being forced to make significant schedule changes earlier to accommodate the inspections and repairs mandated for its 787-9s. Many other airlines are also experiencing schedule disruption because of the engine issues.