Global supply chain challenges continue to affect the operation of aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines. Over 50 planes of the Indian air carriers IndiGo and Go First were grounded. The issue reportedly affects around 25 aircraft of each airline.
P&W battling with supply chain challenges
IndiGo has one of the largest fleets among Indian airlines, with over 300 aircraft in service. The Indian low-cost airline operates a fleet of aircraft primarily manufactured by Airbus. Its A320ceo airplanes use IAE V2500 engines assembled by a consortium that includes P&W. Some A320neo and A321neo airliners flown by the air carrier are also powered by P&W engines, namely the PW1100G-JM. Only A320neo family aircraft are currently grounded, according to Livemint.
IndiGo reported problems with servicing its P&W engines back in December 2022. In an attempt to mitigate the effect of the supply chain disruption, India’s largest airline explored various alternatives, such as returning some stored aircraft into its fleet or wet leasing. But the issue seemingly did not subside.
Go First (formerly known as GoAir) is an Indian low-cost airline that also operates a fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft, out of which 54 A320neos and 5 A320-200s. Both aircraft types are powered by P&W engines, namely the PW1100G-JM and the PW6000 series. If the number of affected aircraft is confirmed, it would mean that half of the Go First fleet is currently grounded due to engine issues.
Battling with labor shortages and other supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, had nevertheless forecasted it would be back on track by early 2023. Commenting on the issue at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2022, P&W Chairman Shane Eddy told reporters:
“Certainly, we’re not happy about the position that we’re in right now. We’re not happy about putting stress on our customers, whether it’s on the OEM side or the flying fleet that is expecting to operate.”
Is a new engine order in jeopardy?
With IndiGo mulling another substantial Airbus order, P&W is certainly under pressure to have the issue fixed. Indeed, on February 23, 2023, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire hinted that preparing to order “several hundred” airliners from Airbus, as reported by the French business newspaper Les Échos. Instead of choosing to equip its A320neo family aircraft with P&W powerplants, IndiGo could instead rely on CFM International's LEAP-1A.
This was the choice made by Air India when placing a record order on February 14, 2023, which included 210 A320neo narrowbody planes. CFM International, a joint venture of GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines, reported receiving an order for 420 LEAP-1A from the Tata-owned airline.
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