Singapore Airlines returned one of three grounded Airbus SAS A380s to service after changing an engine in the wake of a turbine explosion on a Qantas Airways flight.

A second superjumbo likely will resume operations by tomorrow, while work continues on the third, spokesman Nicholas Ionides said in an e-mail today. The airline pulled the planes out of service to swap one Rolls-Royce Group Plc engine each after the discovery of oil stains.

 

Qantas expects to resume flying its grounded fleet of six A380s within “days, not weeks,” Simon Rushton, a spokesman for the Sydney-based carrier, said today. The airline halted superjumbo services Nov. 4 after a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine exploded over Indonesia, forcing an emergency landing. No one was injured in the incident.

 

The Australian carrier set its schedule for the next two weeks without including any A380 flights so customers know they will be able to travel, Rushton said. The A380s can be slotted back onto Los Angeles and London routes as soon as they are cleared, he said. The airline is using other planes, including Boeing Co. 747s, as substitutes.

 

Singapore Air took the three grounded A380s out of service on Nov. 10. The carrier, which has a fleet of 11 A380s, has maintained its schedule by redeploying aircraft on some routes, Ionides said.