Qantas A380 plane departs on first service in 23 days

Qantas Airways Ltd resumed Airbus SAS A380 services for the first time since an engine explosion 23 days ago with a superjumbo departing Sydney with Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce on board.

Flight QF31 bound for London via Singapore took off at about 5:50 pm Sydney time, Qantas spokesman Thomas Woodward said by phone today.

Qantas, Australia’s largest airline, had grounded its fleet of six A380s since November 4, when a Rolls-Royce Group Plc Trent 900 engine exploded over Indonesia forcing an emergency return to Singapore. The Sydney-based carrier will put another of the world’s largest passenger aircraft into service next week as well as two new jets due from Airbus before Dec 25.

“What we want to do is show we have full confidence in the aircraft,” Joyce told reporters at Sydney airport before boarding the plane to Singapore. “I am comfortable with every Qantas operation that takes place. We are always going to operate with 100 per cent safety in mind.”

The airline has begun modifying as many as 16 Trent 900s and won’t return planes powered by them to service until completing inspections with Airbus, regulators and Rolls-Royce.

Qantas configures its A380s for 450 passengers and the jets represent 17 per cent of its international capacity. Joyce leased aircraft and redeployed Boeing 747s and other widebody jets to meet the airlines’ schedule during the grounding.

The carrier, which is due to receive two new A380s in 2011, uses the jets on long-haul routes to Europe and North America.

Qantas hasn’t put an estimate on the cost of the disruptions and while it may seek compensation from London-based Rolls-Royce, Joyce said it’s too early to say what that might be.

The carrier’s shares have declined 7 per cent since Nov. 3 compared with a 2.6 per cent fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index.