Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) is facing scrutiny after mounting delays in its maintenance of engines have seen hundreds of flights preemptively cut by airlines.
British Airways last week said flights to Dallas would be halted next summer, alongside routes to Bahrain and Kuwait, while Virgin Atlantic has also moved to cut its schedule.
Both blamed the groundings of Boeing 787 Dreamliners as they waited for maintenance work to be carried out by Rolls-Royce engineers on the jets’ Trent 1000 engines.
Some 15% of British Airways’ 41-strong 787 fleet was said to be out of service as a result, as Virgin also grappled with one grounding and prepared for another next year.
“We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly,” a British Airways spokesperson said.
“It’s completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of our customers are having their travel plans cancelled because of the continuing failure of Rolls-Royce,” a Times-cited insider from the airline added, “they need to get their act together”.
Rolls-Royce highlighted “supply chain constraints” as causing delays, with a task force having been set up to specifically speed up the delivery of spare parts for the Trent 1000.
“Given the impact created by the current supply chain constraints, it’s one of our top priorities,” a spokesperson from the manufacturer said.
Virgin added that affected passengers would be contacted from Monday after “necessary” changes had been made on uncertainty around Rolls-Royce delays.