Aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce on Wednesday said on Wednesday it had agreed with EU authorities to inspect some of its Trent 1000 TEN engines earlier due to blade deterioration issues. Rolls-Royce said customers would be formally informed of the accelerated inspection regime on Wednesday, adding that guidance for in-service cash costs on the engine in 2019 and 2020 remained unchanged. A small number of the engines needed to have their high-pressure-turbine blades replaced earlier than scheduled, Rolls-Royce said in a statement. The company has agreed with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency a plan for inspecting the remaining fleet. Rolls-Royce civil aerospace president Chris Cholerton said the company regretted the disruption the accelerated inspection regime would cause. "These inspections will allow us to confirm the health of the Trent 1000 TEN fleet and to improve our understanding of the High Pressure Turbine blade deterioration that we have seen in a small number of engines. "This blade deterioration is a known issue but it is occurring faster than we expected on some engines. We started development of an enhanced blade last year, which we are now testing. We expect to start incorporating enhanced blades into the Trent 1000 TEN fleet in early 2020." Rolls-Royce's Trent 1000 TEN engines have been in service since November 2017 and there are currently more than 180 in service, the company said.
Rolls-Royce has agreed to an accelerated inspection of some of its Trent 1000 TEN engines by the European Aviation Safety Agency. It follows the earlier-than-expected replacement of high-pressure turbine blades on a few engines. Rolls-Royce said the inspections would not affect projections for in-service cash costs for this year or next. The company also announced that it had reached agreement with Airbus Helicopters and Sikorsky Aircraft to provide parts for two new helicopters in 2018.