Qantas resumes some A380 flights after engine blast

Chief executive Alan Joyce said he would be on the first Airbus A380 which will leave Sydney for London via Singapore on Saturday -- more than three weeks after the explosion forced a Sydney-bound flight to make an emergency landing.

"We're completely comfortable with the operation of the aircraft," Joyce told reporters, adding: "We have grounded this fleet for 19 days... to make sure we are fully comfortable before putting them back in the air."

Joyce said two superjumbos would be back in action on the London route this week after engine replacements, to be joined by two new A380s which will be delivered by the end of the year. Another two A380s are expected in early 2011.

But four of the giant, double-decker planes remain grounded, including the damaged craft which was forced into a smoky emergency landing at Singapore on November 4 and remains under investigation by safety authorities.

"The remaining aircraft already in the fleet will be returned to service once Qantas, the manufacturers and regulators are completely satisfied that it is safe to do so," the airline said in a statement.

Joyce said the fleet remained limited after problems were discovered with 16 of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines used to power its A380s -- four per plane -- meaning the turbines would have to be replaced.

He also said A380 flights would not yet resume to Los Angeles, despite assurances by engine-maker Rolls-Royce and air safety regulators, because the journey required greater engine thrust, underlining ongoing concerns.

In its statement, Qantas said it was voluntarily suspending A380 services on the Los Angeles route "until further operational experience is gained or possible additional changes are made to engines".

"This is an operational decision by Qantas and pilots still have access to maximum certified thrust if they require it during flight," the carrier said. "It is not a manufacturer's directive."

Joyce said Qantas was being "very conservative" with the re-introduction of the aircraft, and was working with Airbus and British engine-maker Rolls-Royce to bring its other A380s back into service.

The Australian carrier grounded its superjumbos after an A380's Rolls-Royce engine blew up minutes into a flight from Singapore to Sydney, damaging a wing and scattering debris.

Singapore Airlines temporarily grounded three of its 11 A380s after the incident, while Lufthansa said it was changing an engine on one of its superjumbos as a precaution. Other A380 operators use different engines.

Joyce refused to speculate on how much the grounding of the aircraft and subsequent publicity had cost Qantas, but indicated the airline may seek compensation from Rolls-Royce in the future.

"We are not going to get into, at this stage, talking about what those compensation or dialogue will entail, but we will be talking to Rolls-Royce when the time is a appropriate about a range of issues," he told reporters.

"They understand the brand implications that's caused and they're very apologetic for that," Joyce said. "We'll continue to work with them to try and resolve those issues."

The engine explosion cast a shadow over the A380, which weighs 560 tonnes at takeoff and was hailed as the future of long-haul aviation at its commercial launch in 2007. The A380 was "still a fantastic aircraft", Joyce said.