NEW DELHI: The bad news from Pratt & Whitney (PW) shows no signs of abating for customer airlines using its problem-plagued engines on the best-selling single-aisle Airbus A320neo aircraft and passengers. The engine manufacturer has now warned that “600 to 700 engines will be removed from shop visits between 2023 and 2026 (and) the accelerated removals and increasing shop visits will result in more aircraft on the ground.” As the world’s largest customer for the A320 family of aircraft, Indigo is seeking to lease more than 20 older-generation A320ceos to deal with what could further worsen the grounded fleet situation. India’s largest domestic airline has a fleet of over 300 aircraft, of which nearly 50 are grounded due to lack of PW engines.
The neos are said to be more economical than the A320ceos, but the problems with PW engines have now led IndiGo to look for the A320ceos. IndiGo currently has more than 130 A320neos and could be badly affected by the new PW alert. It has already leased two widebody aircraft from Turkish Airlines (leased with the operational crew), which are operated daily between Istanbul, Delhi and Mumbai. GoAir had a fleet of PW-powered A320s, but is now grounded. The airline had squarely blamed PW for the collapse.
In a statement on Tuesday, IndiGo said: “We have received recent information from our OEM manufacturer PW regarding the outcome of the latest inspection of their engine. We continue to work closely with PW to assess the potential impact on our fleet and implement mitigation measures as necessary.”
The “expedited removals” became necessary because PW discovered “powder metal contamination” that can cause some engine parts to crack. Greg Hayes, chairman and CEO of US aerospace company RTX which makes PW motors, said: “We are focused on addressing the challenges posed by the problem of powder metal production. We will never compromise on the safe operation of our fleet. That is why the PW team has worked hard on developing its fleet management plan. At the same time, we recognize that this is an extremely difficult situation for our customers, and we are proactively taking steps to support and limit the operational impact for them.”
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation had a conference last July with its US counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and PW over the latest in a series of endless problems with the Pratt turbofan engines (GTF) that power the Airbus A320neos. The final problem involves microscopic contaminants found in a metal used in part of the engine core. Following a number of shutdowns of these onboard engines recently, the DGCA is doing its own “deep dive” on the issue.
The neos are said to be more economical than the A320ceos, but the problems with PW engines have now led IndiGo to look for the A320ceos. IndiGo currently has more than 130 A320neos and could be badly affected by the new PW alert. It has already leased two widebody aircraft from Turkish Airlines (leased with the operational crew), which are operated daily between Istanbul, Delhi and Mumbai. GoAir had a fleet of PW-powered A320s, but is now grounded. The airline had squarely blamed PW for the collapse.
In a statement on Tuesday, IndiGo said: “We have received recent information from our OEM manufacturer PW regarding the outcome of the latest inspection of their engine. We continue to work closely with PW to assess the potential impact on our fleet and implement mitigation measures as necessary.”
The “expedited removals” became necessary because PW discovered “powder metal contamination” that can cause some engine parts to crack. Greg Hayes, chairman and CEO of US aerospace company RTX which makes PW motors, said: “We are focused on addressing the challenges posed by the problem of powder metal production. We will never compromise on the safe operation of our fleet. That is why the PW team has worked hard on developing its fleet management plan. At the same time, we recognize that this is an extremely difficult situation for our customers, and we are proactively taking steps to support and limit the operational impact for them.”
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation had a conference last July with its US counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and PW over the latest in a series of endless problems with the Pratt turbofan engines (GTF) that power the Airbus A320neos. The final problem involves microscopic contaminants found in a metal used in part of the engine core. Following a number of shutdowns of these onboard engines recently, the DGCA is doing its own “deep dive” on the issue.
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