Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) has faced further criticism over aircraft engine servicing delays, which have prompted cancellations at British Airways and Virgin.
Thai Airways on Tuesday warned engine maintenance by the FTSE 100-listed manufacturer was taking longer than ever.
“We send it for a shop visit and it doesn’t come back,” boss Chai Eamsiri said at an airline meeting in Brunei, discussing Trent 1000 engines for the carrier’s 787 Dreamliners.
“It used to be 90 days. Now it’s longer, toward 120 days,” he warned, adding to pressure on Rolls-Royce after British Airways and Virgin criticised delays over the weekend.
Both had moved to preemptively cut routes next year due to groundings of Boeing Co 787s on the back of the delays.
“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 British Airways insider, cited by The Times, had commented.
Supply chain constraints have seen Rolls-Royce grapple with sourcing replacement parts for the engines.
A task force had been set up to specifically speed up the delivery of these, Rolls-Royce said on Monday.
Chai Eamsiri signalled Rolls-Royce appeared to be facing too much demand from “every airline” for engine servicing, with the Thai carrier having opted for General Electric engines to power a recent order of 45 787 Dreamliners, placed earlier in the year.