BigDUSA

That's because the 787 program is in the test phase. I would imagine that the 787 will undergo teething problems when it enters commercial service..

The Australian Transport Safety Board has issued a safety warning about Airbus A380 engines after a mid-air emergency involving one of Qantas's superjumbos over Indonesia last month. The Qantas Airbus was forced to land in Singapore after its engine exploded over Batam Island on November 4. The incident caused airlines around the world to ground their A380s while they investigated the planes' Rolls-Royce engines. Today, the ATSB issued a safety recommendation about potential engine problems in some Airbus A380 aircraft. It said there was a "potential manufacturing defect with an oil tube connection to the high-pressure (HP)/intermediate-pressure (IP) bearing structure" of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines installed in some A380s. The statement said the defect "could lead to fatigue cracking, oil leakage and potential engine failure from an oil fire within the HP/IP bearing buffer space." The ATSB said airlines and safety regulators were inspecting the affected engines and would remove any engines displaying the fault from service. The ATSB will release its preliminary findings into the explosion tomorrow in Canberra. Qantas said it would recheck its two A380 aircraft currently in service this afternoon, but said there was no immediate risk to flight safety. Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth says the tests will start this afternoon and could take up to four hours on each plane. "The inspection involves a very detailed examination with a baroscope," she said. "It's specialised equipment, and this includes medical equipment that will be used to get 3D imaging of the aircraft's engines. "These images will then be sent to Rolls-Royce in Derby and we will work with Rolls-Royce to determine exactly what's going on with these engines." The airline says at this stage it does not anticipate the inspections will affect its international services. QUOTE

Personally I could care less what the forum snobs think. I stay where I like. Eat where I like. Drink in the bars that I like and pay for the BG that I like.

Why would this affect your decision to stay at this hotel?

Damn shame that tommie's once again resorts to making up phony quotes that he attributes to me. Only goes to show how lame he is. Sad little man.

QUOTE (BigDUSA @ Dec 1 2010, 12:28 AM) The start of another week and another bout of xenophobia from the OP .... Thank fuck it says RR on the engines and not Airbus. QUOTE Damn shame that tommie's once again resorts to making up phony quotes that he attributes to me. Only goes to show how lame he is. Sad little man.

Why?

A report into this month's engine explosion on a Qantas A380 jet is expected to show it was far more serious than we've heard. The report is due this week after the incident near Singapore on November 4. The inquiry will reveal if the presence of two extra pilots, who happened to be on the flight, saved the plane from disaster. Experts say a standard crew of three wouldn't have been able to deal with so many problems at once. NEWSTALKZB QUOTE The start of another week and the news reports continue to mount up with the Rolls Royce engine fiasco.

I would recommend a visit to the Taj Mahal. Well worth the trip. If not the Taj then a party town in Goa. I found India to be a fascinating country.

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) chief executive Alan Joyce has said an engine failure on an A380 superjumbo should be blamed on the engine's design and had nothing to do with the airline's operations. A mid-flight failure of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine (RR.L) on November 4 forced Qantas to ground its six-plane A380 fleet. On Saturday, the airline resumed some A380 operations but four of the planes remain grounded. Joyce told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in an interview broadcast on Sunday that his airline performed "exceptionally well" over the incident, which forced an A380 with 459 on board to make an emergency landing in Singapore. "It was a new engine and it was absolutely clear nothing to do with anything Qantas was doing," Joyce told Inside Business in a recorded interview. "It was an engine that didn't perform to the parameters that we would've expected." Although he admitted the bill was "still mounting," he said that Qantas' handling of the incident had probably enhanced its brand rather than damaged it. "In the research we're doing, people are aware that this was a Rolls-Royce problem, so that when we survey the general population the vast majority of people know that there's a problem with the design of the engines," he said. Joyce dismissed several other incidents involving turn-backs of Qantas planes since November 4 as minor in global aviation terms, saying there were "hundreds of them that take place every year." "It's how you handle them, and how you manage them," he said. "And each one of these when I look at them I can see that Qantas performed exceptionally well in how it managed them." Safety remained the airline's top priority, he said. Joyce said that Qantas was maintaining some restrictions on its A380s, and they would not yet be operating across the Pacific to Los Angeles. The decision not to operate the A380s across the Pacific had been taken in consultation with Rolls-Royce and Airbus, Joyce said, as the engines needed to be operated at a higher power setting for longer distances on that route. "We introduce the aircraft to make sure that we understand how the engines are performing before we put them back on LA," he said. The November 4 incident was the most serious so far for the world's largest passenger aircraft. It hit shares in Qantas, Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) and Rolls-Royce. (Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) QUOTE

Yes it does have AC and if you stayed there, you would know that is the case. I don't lower my standards when I stay at Sky-Top. It's cheap, clean, well run guest house and for me it has a great location. Next to Soi 6. I could spend more money on a place that has a gym that I wouldn't use. Same goes for a pool.

Since you asked. I live in a single family home in one of the wealthiest communities in the US. I live very well. Thank you. Sky-Top is an inexpensive guest house and it's clean. If your looking for something fancy? Sky-Top ain't it.

I find it hard to disagree what with the Airbus A380 years late. Billion of Euro taxpayers money down the drain. Never to be repaid. The wiring harness fiasco. Wings needed a late redesign to meet standards and last but not least engines that leak oil like a sieve and explode. Damn near forgot, sales that come nowhere close to the break even point.

Would the FLB stay open 24/7 and does it make good business sense to do so?

Berlin - European aviation regulators on Monday refocused their directive to check the engines on Airbus 380 planes, turning instead to the oil tubes that lubricate the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. The Trent 900 has been in the spotlight ever since one caught fire on a Qantas A380 on November 4, blowing off a casing, damaging a wing and control lines and leading to an emergency landing in Singapore. The European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne, Germany said it was revising its November 10 emergency airworthiness directive to world airlines to check the engines every 20 flight cycles. The first directive required mechanics to check four parts of the engine: turbine blades, a case drain, an air buffer cavity and oil service tubes in order to detect any abnormal oil leakage. The second directive says mechanics now only have to do close study of the latter two parts: the air buffer cavity and oil tubes. "The incident investigation has progressed and inspection data from in-service engines has been gathered and analysed. The results of this analysis show the need to amend the inspection procedure," EASA said in the revised statement. A spokesman said the incident investigation was still continuing. "The requirements ... are considered interim action as the investigation led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (has) yet to deliver its final conclusions," the statement said. Rolls-Royce has said that the failure was confined to a component in the turbine. Posted by Earth Times Staff QUOTE

European aircraft maker Airbus said yesterday it would seek compensation from Rolls Royce after one of the British manufacturer's engines failed on a Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo. "We will seek financial compensation from Rolls Royce," an Airbus spokesman said. "Our production is currently far from normal" and Airbus is incurring additional costs because of the problem with the engine, he said. Advertisement: Story continues below The spokesman did not give any figures. In London, a Rolls Royce spokesman said the company had "no comment" to make on the Airbus statement. Qantas of Australia said earlier Thursday that Rolls-Royce could have replace up to 40 engines on A380 superjumbos operated by various airlines. "Rolls may have to look at replacing up to 40 engines across the entire A380 fleet," a Qantas spokeswoman told AFP. Qantas grounded its six A380s powered by Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines after one was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore on November 4 after one blew out. Rolls Royce said last week that the failure of a "specific component in the turbine area of the engine" caused the fire and mid-air blowout on the Qantas flight shortly after it took off for Sydney. In the wake of the emergency, the European Aviation Safety Agency ordered airlines to carry out new inspections of the Rolls-Royce engines. The double-decker A380, which carries 525 passengers and weighs 560 tonnes at takeoff, was hailed as the future of long-haul aviation at its commercial launch in 2007. Earlier Thursday, German flag carrier Lufthansa said it would change a second Rolls-Royce engine on one of its four Airbus A380s. Singapore Airlines (SIA), which operates 11 of the planes, said that it was inspecting the Rolls-Royce engines on its A380s and would replace them if advised to do so by the manufacturers. "Under this inspection regime, as and when engines need to be replaced as advised by our manufacturers, we have been doing so and will continue to do so, to ensure the safe and continuous operation of the fleet," SIA said. Air France and Emirates also operate the A380 but their aircraft are powered by engines made by the Engine Alliance, a consortium of General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Safran, which are not affected. Airbus head Thomas Enders said last week that the engine problem will affect deliveries of the A380. "I do expect that this ... will impact deliveries, especially in 2011," because of checks on and recommended replacements to some engines, Enders said, without giving a specific figure. At the same time, "the reputation of this aircraft will remain untarnished and will even increase in the years ahead," he added. AFP QUOTE Another week and the hits just keep on coming for Rolls Royce.

Triple glazing with window shutter will do the trick.

Made that mistake once and never did that again. Well worth paying for the extra night.

I discovered the sexual attractions of SE Asia back in 1967 when I was first stationed in Vietnam with the US Army. I returned to Saigon in 1972 for a one year tour. I was stationed in a small stand alone medical dispensary where we were allowed to bring women into the barracks for the night. A army buddy was stationed with the US Army Hospital, BKK and clued me into the sexual pleasures that was on offer in BKK. I made my first trip to LOS back in 1999 and have returned every year since.

Yes the 787 program is in the TEST phase where the A380 is in the commercial phase. BTW the USA did save the UK ass twice in the last century.

Pattaya officials are again pledging to crackdown on noisy Third Road entertainment venues as complaints continue to pile up regarding the open-air restaurants and bars. Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thammakittikhun toured a stretch of Third Road along with nuisance control officers from the Public Health and Environment Department. At issue again is late-night noise from open-air venues offering live music and shows. Verawat said many of the offending restaurants and bars are operating without the correct permits in areas too close to homes and apartments. Several had already been ordered by the city to reduce noise or operating hours, but simply ignored the city’s objections. The issue is hardly a new one for Third Road residents or public officials. In September last year Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and Banglamung’s Phongthasit Pijjanan walked the exact same area in response to complaints in The Village housing development where people were so fed they were moving out. The main pub at issue then was owned by “influential local figures” and three months of complaints brought no action from the city or police. Like then, Thamkittikhun said the current problem is “delicate.” “Entrepreneurs always contend Pattaya is a tourism city,” the Banglamung chief said. However, he added, officials are now vowing that any establishment named in a nuisance complaints three times will be reviewed by his office and considered for closure. “We are all living in the same society. We need to respect the common law,” he said. QUOTE

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A group of institutional investors, who lost heavily in June 2006 when EADS's share price collapsed, will file a civil suit over the way it announced production delays on the A380 project. Pieter Koetsier, lawyer with Kennedy van der Laan, said on Tuesday the suit would be filed this week or next at the Amsterdam civil court on behalf of a special foundation representing some 100 institutional investors. Earlier this month the Amsterdam commercial court threw out a request by some investors for a probe into the management of EADS and the way it had communicated the production problems -- in particular about a complex wiring issue that caused big delivery delays and prompted compensation claims from clients. The A380 superjumbo, Airbus' biggest passenger plane, is currently beset by a problem with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines that forced Australia's Qantas to ground its fleet temporarily. "We are filing a civil suit, that is a different jurisdiction (than the commercial court). First we want to establish that EADS was responsible for the losses caused and if that is the case we will file for damages," Koetsier said. The special foundation is headed by Alexander Reus, a partner at U.S. class-action specialists Diaz, Reus of Miami. OPEN TO OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT Philipp Lehmann, a spokesman for EADS, said the claims were likely to be dismissed. "The announcement of law suits in the Netherlands is not new to us: they refer to delays which were made public in 2006; respective claims have always been totally unfounded, from our point of view," he said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "Only recently on 3 November 2010, the potential plaintiffs learned that the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ... had dismissed their application to order an investigation regarding alleged "mismanagement" by EADS in connection with the A380 delivery delays in the year of 2006," he said. "If a Dutch civil court would have to deal with the same issue, we anticipate that it would come to the same conclusion." Reus, a German-trained lawyer, said the foundation (http://www.investorclaimsagainsteads.com) represented 60 million shares which was over 20 percent of the free outstanding shares. EADS is 55-percent controlled by French, German and Spanish entities. He declined to say who was behind the foundation other than saying there were institutional investors from many countries including those that were behind the case at the commercial court -- Irish Life Investment Managers and DekaBank Investment. Reus said the foundation was not legally able to seek damages itself but if the court was to find EADS liable, the investors could seek damages individually. "We are not trying to get the U.S. class-action system to Europe but we are seeking ways to permit investors to seek compensation," Reus said, adding that incurred losses were in the region of 800 million to 1 billion euros ($1.12-$1.40 billion). Reus said the foundation was open to an out-of-court settlement. EADS has its statutory headquarters in Amsterdam. Clifford Chance, lawyers for EADS, declined to comment. Koetsier and Reus said the civil case could take several months. (Reporting by Marcel Michelson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) QUOTE

SYDNEY: About 40 Rolls-Royce engines used in the world’s fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft may need to be replaced to ensure safety after one such engine partly disintegrated mid-flight this month, Australia’s Qantas said. That would represent about half of all Rolls-Royce engines currently in service on A380 aircraft, the world’s largest passenger plane with a list price of around $350 million each. “We’ve been talking to Airbus and Rolls-Royce and we understand that the number (of engines to be replaced) is around 40,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said on Thursday. A source familiar with the process said that Singapore Airlines, which operates 11 of the A380s, could be forced to change around two dozen, Qantas may have to swap around a dozen while Lufthansa, which operates the newest A380s, will have to change just one or two. Emirates, the biggest operator of the A380 globally, is not affected as it uses a different type of engine. A Qantas A380 with 466 people on board made an emergency landing in Singapore on Nov. 4, after one of its Rolls-Royce engines partly disintegrated mid-flight after an oil fire. Since then, airlines have sought to replace their existing engines with newer versions. Rolls-Royce said last week that the problem with the Trent 900 engine is confined to a specific component in the turbine area. Aviation experts say the fault develops over time, so the new engines should not present any safety issues and will give Rolls-Royce time to come up with a permanent solution. Singapore Airlines would not confirm any future engine change and said it was acting in compliance with a European emergency directive. “We remain in very close contact with Rolls-Royce and Airbus, and all checks that we have carried out to date have been in full compliance with their recommendations and instructions,” the airline said. Qantas’s six A380s have been grounded since the incident, while rival Singapore Airlines has also been forced to cancel several flights in order to swap out some old engines. QUOTE

Is to me.

I let the current news stories do the debate.