Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, Shai Weiss, has revealed that the company has been facing issues with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted on its Boeing 787 fleet. Weiss admitted that the engines were not ideal and were causing problems to its network, expecting the issues to continue for some time to come. The comments came at the Airlines UK conference in London, as reported by The Independent.
Boeing 787 Trent 1000 issues
Virgin Atlantic says that maintaining its Boeing 787 fleet requires much more effort than maintaining any of its other planes. The company admits that the aircraft requires nearly three times more attention due to its engines. Weiss also warns that the issues will continue through 2025.
“We have been dealing with this for a very long time. It started from the launch of the plane. The Trent 1000 engine has not been a good engine. I’m assuming this will persist during the whole year.”
Typically, airlines have been able to cover the issues persisting on their 787 fleets by deploying different spare aircraft. British Airways, for example, has used its Boeing 777s as it faces its own Trent 1000-induced concerns.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Network rejig
Virgin Atlantic has had to readjust its network in order to match its reduced capacity, including its prediction for next year. According to sources cited by The Times in early-November, one of Virgin Atlantic’s dreamliners was out of service. Next year, it expects this number to rise to two.
“We have taken measures to reduce our schedule. We’re not launching Accra and we’re delaying the restart of Tel Aviv. It’s going to hurt us financially.”
The London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Accra (ACC) route was meant to launch on May 1, 2025. Flights were to operate daily using a Boeing 787, providing “much needed competition on the route.” The service to Tel Aviv – also hindered by the current situation in the Middle East- was meant to resume on March 30, 2025, in time for the summer season.
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Virgin’s Boeing 787 fleet and destinations
The airline has 17 Dreamliners in its fleet, all the -9 variant. Confirming the Times report, ch-aviation lists one aircraft (G-VWHO) as grounded, in maintenance at Shanghai Pudong (PVG) since November 9.
Cirium data for November shows that the type flies on several key Virgin Atlantic routes, including:
Photo: Cirium
British Airways cuts
Virgin Atlantic is not the first airline to announce cuts in recent months, with 
British Airways announcing that it would be slashing services across its network in response to Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 concerns.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
This included a revision of two routes to the Middle East, namely Bahrain and Kuwait. The former was retracted, however, and the route will continue, operating with the 787. It also had to suspend flights between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) until March 2025, and delaying the start of services to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) by a few months.
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However, British Airways could return to the route in late 2025 or 2026 if Rolls-Royce fixes its supply chain problems.
Earlier today, we reported on how the Rolls-Royce CEO is confident that the anticipated upgrades to the Trent 1000 will ensure it maintains its appeal with airline customers, despite challenges thus far.
