Israeli carrier El Al expects to have Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-TEN engines powering its entire Boeing 787 fleet by the end of the year, but remains cautious over the potential for future delivery delays.
El Al has seven 787-9s in its fleet, the first two of which were fitted with the Package C version of the Trent 1000, which has since become the subject of blade durability concerns.
Over the course of July-August the engine manufacturer replaced three of the four engines on the two affected 787s, and El Al says the fourth engine is “expected” to be received by the end of this year.
This will mean all of the 787s in El Al’s fleet will have the modernised TEN version of the powerplant.
But El Al states that the arrival of a spare engine, due for delivery in December, is being delayed until February 2019.
It says that, according to Boeing and Rolls-Royce, the situation is constraining the supply of new Trent 1000-TEN engines.
While El Al has been receiving its 787-9s on schedule, the carrier cautions that the persistent restrictions “could affect the timely delivery of other aircraft and engines”.
El Al’s latest fleet modernisation schedule shows that it is due to take seven 787s during 2019.
Five of these are 787-9s, which will arrive over the first three quarters, followed by a pair of 787-8s – the airline’s first – in the fourth quarter. Two more 787-8s will be delivered in the first half of 2020.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
