N

ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is expecting the arrival of four B777-Extended Range (ER) jets it ordered from American company Boeing next month, despite reports of engine problems in the aircraft, says Garuda'€™s president director.

'€œWe are hoping to receive the first B777-300 ER plane at the end of June without any issues,'€ Garuda president director Emirsyah Satar said on Tuesday.

He was commenting on reports about potential engine glitches on the wide-body aircraft as General Electric and Boeing recently alerted airlines about the issue.

Emirsyah emphasized safety was a top priority, saying that the company would not operate the plane if it found engine problems.

'€œWe do understand that there are problems with some of the engines. But we will never accept a plane with an engine that is not up to safety standards,'€ Emirsyah told The Jakarta Post in a text message.

In a bid to support its Quantum Leap program by operating 194 aircraft with an average fleet age of 5 years by the end of 2015, Garuda has ordered 10 B777-300 ER aircraft, four of which are expected start operating this year.

Two B777-300'€™s are set to replace the aging B747-400s serving the Jakarta '€” Jeddah route, while the other two will fly the Jakarta'€“London route through Gatwick Airport.

The reported engine problems affects about 118 transfer gearboxes made between September 2012 and March 2013. The parts, made by Italian company Avio SpA, are on about 26 in-service B777-300ER jets and another 44 aircraft in-production, GE said.

There are more than 1,150 of the GE90-115B engines in-service. The Italian-made gearbox has been a reliable part for more than 15 years.

Contacted separately, GE Indonesia spokeswoman Ariavita Purnamasari said that GE Aviation had issued two service bulletins to GE90-115B engine operators regarding the recently manufactured transfer gearboxes, which may have gear separation potential.

The bulletins instruct to replace either the transfer gearbox or the GE90 engine with '€œde-twin'€ 25 GE90-15B-powered B777 aircraft within five days.

'€œThis action ensures that at least one engine has a transfer gearbox from a different manufacturer that has passed the Eddy Current Inspection [ECI]. The bulletins were issued following two in-flight shutdowns on GE90-115B-powered 777-300 ERs due to gear separation within the transfer gearbox,'€ she said, adding that one event occurred in February and another on May 9.

ECI uses electromagnetic induction to detect flaws in conductive materials.

Ariavita said that GE was still investigating the root cause. Early analysis of transfer gearboxes revealed a material anomaly, but no formal conclusions have been reached.

'€œGE is aggressively shipping replacement transfer gearboxes to customers that have undergone an enhanced ECI to assist with replacement efforts,'€ she went on, adding that the company was also developing an on-wing ECI.

'€”JP/Nurfika Osman