British Airways To Lease Qatar Airways Airbus A330

Similar to many other Boeing 787 operators, British Airways is also facing engine issues with its Trent 1000 engines. Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and now British Airways are just some of the carriers experiencing engine issues with the Trent 1000s. Aircraft have been grounded and replacements have had to be found to avoid cancelling flights.

(Photo by @lhr_spotter)

British Airways has applied for permission to wet-lease three Airbus A330s from Qatar Airways to cover for its grounded Boeing 787s as they undergo maintenance. On May 4, British Airways applied for permission to lease 3 Airbus A330s starting June 1 till 30 of September to "support passenger operations." This is to deal with the "impact of aircraft availability within its own fleet as a result of issues surrounding the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Package C engine." Due to "exceptional needs", British Airways wishes to justify the leasing of aircraft from a non-european airline to a European airline. Currently, British Airways has 8 Boeing 787-8s in service with 3 on order and has 16 Boeing 787-9s with 1 on order. In addition to that, British Airways has 12 orders for the largest variant, the Boeing 787-10.

(Photo by @lhr_spotter)

The bankruptcy of Air Berlin has helped Virgin Atlantic as they have been able to lease the Airbus A330s that were previously owned by Air Berlin. The aircraft have already been put into service and are operating long haul flights temporarily replacing the ground dreamliners. In addition to that, Virgin Atlantic has put an Airbus A340 back into service as it had been in storage.

(Photo by @lhr_spotter)

Airlines all across the globe are facing the same engine issues, severely affecting the 787 programme. However, it is not all good for Airbus as they also are having issues, however with the Airbus A320Neos which has forced many airlines to ground their aircraft. Indigo Airlines from India has been one of the most affected, grounding aircraft every month due to the engine issues. All engine manufacturers are trying to fix the issues and all aircraft programmes should return to normal in a few months however with delays.