QANTAS SET TO SUE ROLLS ROYCE OVER ENGINE RULING

MELBOURNE, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Qantas is ready to sue Rolls Royce, the maker
of its A380 engines, alleging new rules for its engines mean it can only carry
80 passengers across the Pacific in its Airbus 380s.

Qantas says it will sue Rolls Royce if the pair cannot agree to a settlement
figure for losses caused by Nov 4's mid-flight explosion, the Herald Sun
reports.

The airline filed papers in the Federal Court Friday saying it bought the
Airbus superjumbos because they could carry 450 passengers from Australia to
the US.

But the new rules mean the superjumbo is not worth using on flights to the
US.

Qantas, which began discussions with Rolls Royce this week, said it was
keeping all options open to recoup its losses after its A380 planes were
grounded and operational constraints imposed.

Qantas is fighting for damages and is also seeking a court order for Rolls
Royce to fund a A$1 million credit note guaranteeing against "uncontained engine
failure".

In its statement, Qantas said although Rolls Royce continued to modify the
Trent 900 engine, it failed to update 23 engines on Qantas' jets.

When the A380 engine exploded near Singapore mid-flight on Nov 4, only one
engine on Qantas' jets had been modified.

Qantas was forced to ground its A380 fleet after the incident.

-- BERNAMA