Gulf Air said engine maker Rolls-Royce must quickly fix the durability issues on the Trent 1000 engines powering its Boeing 787-9 wide-body aircraft, which are imposing constraints on the airline as it maps out network expansion.
The Manama-based airline has undertaken a network revision that will result in axing unprofitable routes and 25 per cent more destinations being added in the next five years, Jeffrey Goh, chief executive of Gulf Air Group Holding, told The National on the sidelines of the Routes World conference in Bahrain.
However, Gulf Air has had to reduce flight frequencies and cancel or delay some flights as a result of the persistent engine issues that are grounding some of its wide-body aircraft while the engines are in the repair shop, he said.
The airline called on the UK engine builder to address its issues as more predictability and efficiency is required to plan the growth of its network.
“Rolls-Royce doesn't have a solution for its Trent 1000 engines, which means there has been frequent grounding of aircraft. We are not the only airline,” Mr Goh said.
“Rolls-Royce has to expedite a solution.”
The industry continues to face “chronic challenges” in terms of aircraft availability and these supply chain issues are likely to persist for the next two years, he said.
“Our view is that things have not improved and certainly for our wide-body operations things have become worse,” he said.
“That means capacity is going to be constrained going forward and we are pushing Rolls-Royce very hard to have a solution with the engine problems, but we're not seeing much happiness in the horizon.”
Rolls-Royce's response to the airline's concerns has been a “statement that is filled with hopes but what we want is delivery.”
The so-called “time on wing” for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine is very short and there are challenges with defects on engine parts that require replacing, leading to more downtime for the engines. Time on wing is a measure of the operational reliability of a jet engine.
“We have run into double-digit percentages of the number of engine changes we've had to make on the 787s year-on-year,” Mr Goh said.
“That means downtime of the aircraft, more resources being dedicated to just changing the engines and many of these engines that go into the work shops stay there for a long time – and when they do come out, a certain percentage of those will have to go back in.”
Gulf Air currently has 10 Boeing 787s in its fleet and will take delivery of two more of these Dreamliners by the end of 2026.
Gulf Air operates a fleet of 32 Airbus A320-family aircraft and 10 Boeing 787-9s. It expects delivery of another nine A320-family aircraft and two 787-9s to join the fleet.
Route network 'recalibration'
Gulf Air flies to about 60 destinations today and expects to add 25 per cent more to its network within five years.
“We have completed our network review and we have begun to execute on the new network map that we have that will take us to the next four to five years, always subject to availability of aircraft of course,” Mr Goh said.
“Hopefully by the end of this year or the beginning of next year we will be announcing additional destinations.”
Gulf Air wants to boost its presence in key financial hubs, strong leisure markets and major pilgrimage centres.
The airline has launched new routes including to the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou and Munich. At the same time, the airline has cut four points in Pakistan as part of its network recalibration.
Gulf Air had also launched routes to Najaf and Baghdad, though flights to the Iraqi cities has been suspended because of the conflicts in the Middle East.
Sharing information on flight risk assessment
Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.
“It has impacted our operations and it has impacted customer travel plans because we have had to cancel flights, we've had to divert flights and we've had to do additional stops to carry extra fuel to continue operations just to avoid airspace that should be avoided,” Mr Goh said.
Airlines in the region are co-operating on sharing information about risk assessment for flights as safety and security of aircraft, crew, passengers and operations are a non-competitive issue.
“There is active, continuous conversations between the airlines in the region in understanding the intelligence related to safety of operations … so we all learn from each other because safety and security is always paramount for us and we want to make sure we cover every angle of the risk assessment. The more we know, the better we can plan and react to that.”
Safety is paramount even if it means inconvenience, disruption of operations, positioning of aircraft and the additional cost of rerouting flights, he said.
The higher costs is a “crease in the cloth and we are hoping it will not be a permanent situation … any airline operation should be able to absorb these temporary airline disruptions,” Mr Goh said.
Dealing with wars, pandemics and supply chain woes is a testament to the strength of the airline industry.
“There is no more greater testament to the resilience of the airline industry than from the Covid crisis we've had. And having emerged from Covid, we thought life would be better and now we're running into a different kind of crisis, which is the global supply chain crisis. We are all counting on the resilience of airlines to make sure we come out of this, as the industry has done for more than 100 years of commercial flying.”
Production issues and delivery delays at Boeing and Airbus have made it difficult for airlines to fully capitalise on strong demand for air travel.
Asked about the efforts of Boeing's new chief executive Kelly Ortberg in turning around the company during its safety and quality crisis, Mr Goh said it is “early days to make a fair assessment of whether or not the initiatives that the new CEO has in place will bear fruit. He is fairly new … it will take some time for changes to happen”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
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A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
The five pillars of Islam
Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
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We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
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Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
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Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
SPECS
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Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
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