Explanatory-What is the problem with Cathay Pacific’s A350 Rolls-Royce engines? By Reuters

By Lisa Barrington

(Reuters) – Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways ( OTC: ) said on Monday it was inspecting all 48 of its Airbus A350 wide-body planes after the in-flight failure of an engine component made by British manufacturer Rolls-Royce ( OTC ). :).

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FLIGHT?

A problem occurred minutes after flight CX383 took off from Hong Kong to Zurich on Monday, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24.

The five-year-old A350-1000 made two wide circles and dumped fuel over the sea before returning to Hong Kong, where it landed safely about 75 minutes after takeoff.

Cathay Pacific said it identified an engine component failure after the aircraft returned to Hong Kong.

WHY DID THE A350 ENGINE FAIL?

Cathay Pacific did not say which engine component failed, but the carrier said it was “the first of its kind to experience such a failure on any A350 aircraft in the world”.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters the incident involved a problem with a fuel nozzle inside an XWB-97 engine, the Rolls-Royce model used on the A350-1000.

HOW MANY TYPES OF A350S ARE THERE?

The Airbus A350 is a twin long-aisle aircraft that can carry between 300 and 480 passengers. It comes in two sizes: the A350-900 and the larger A350-1000, both powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce engines.

WHAT ENGINE DOES THE A350 USE?

The A350-1000 and A350 freighter use Trent XWB-97 engines, Rolls-Royce’s largest civil jet engine.

The most popular A350-900 uses its Trent XWB-84 engines.

ARE ALL A350 ENGINES AFFECTED?

It is not clear.

Cathay Pacific said the incident occurred on one of its 18 A350-1000 aircraft, but was also inspecting its 30 A350-900 aircraft as a “precautionary measure”.

The airline said it had “identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced”, but did not say which aircraft model.

Rolls-Royce did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported problem with the fuel nozzles, but previously said it was aware of the incident at Cathay and would work closely with the airline, Airbus and relevant authorities.

Rolls-Royce shares closed 6.5% lower on Monday.

HOW MANY A350 AIRCRAFT COULD BE IMPACTED?

There are 88 A350-1000s in operation worldwide, according to Swiss aviation information provider ch-aviation.

The top six operators are Qatar Airways with 24 aircraft, British Airways with 18, Cathay Pacific with 18, Virgin Atlantic with 12 and Etihad Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL) with five each.

There are 520 A350-900s in operation worldwide, ch-aviation data shows.

It is unclear whether other airlines inspect their engines.

Broker Jefferies said in a note to clients on Monday that 234 XWB-97 engines had been delivered to customers by the end of June.

WHICH CATHAY PACIFIC FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELED?

Cathay Pacific said on Monday it had canceled 24 round-trip flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Osaka, Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore, operating until the end of Wednesday, and would update on further cancellations as appropriate which will complete its inspections.

The airline’s A350s also serve destinations in Europe and North America.

Shares in Cathay Pacific were down 0.5% in morning trading on Tuesday.

WHAT ARE OTHER AIRLINES DOING WITH THE A350S?

Tokyo-based JAL, which has five A350-1000s that are all less than a year old, said it had asked Rolls-Royce for more information and had not halted A350 flights in the meantime. “If the engine manufacturer takes any further action, we will respond accordingly,” a JAL spokesperson said.

Taiwan-based China Airlines, which operates 15 A350-900s, said its operations were unaffected but would heed any instructions given by manufacturers.