This is posted in Flyer Talk thanks to phlwookie:
Does anyone know the status of this aircraft or what A330 flights may get downgraded in the next week?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=697644It looks like US might be short an A330 at least in the short term.
I have a friend on US 719 FCO-PHL today who was wondering why it was to be about 7 hours late out of Rome today, and it seems that 718 last night took returned to PHL after a short flight and probably a fuel dump over central NJ:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/U...132Z/KPHL/KPHL
Per this thread on airliners.net, someone left a comm panel open upon departure (shouldn't there be some sort of sensor for this?) and the plane was hit by lightning. The panel being open may have created a more damaging path for the lightning, as the fuselage has holes from the strike.
US 1071 PHL-SJU and 1024 SJU-PHL today subbed an A321 for the 330, so clearly they put the Rome passengers on the "spare" A330 to FCO, which left at 3:24am.
Hopefully the damage is quickly repairable, but a caution for those heading to SJU in the coming days/weeks until this A330 is repaired: the 330 normally assigned to US 1071/1024 might be subbed for something else - I would have guessed a 757 or 767 rather than the 321 used today - but in any case those choosing these flights for the 330 might be disappointed.
Does anyone know the status of this aircraft or what A330 flights may get downgraded in the next week?