IndiGo, India’s largest carrier by fleet and market share, declared its best ever quarterly results on August 2. At Rs 3,091 crore, the quarterly profit shadow that of any other listed airline in India in the past and is double of IndiGo’s previous best. Yet the next day, its share opened lower, seeing a drop of over 1 percent while the benchmark index was trading flat.
The worrying trend for analysts was possibly the news that the number of grounded aircraft due to lack of engines stands around 40. Having 13 percent if its 310-strong aircraft fleet grounded does not paint a pretty picture of an airline. The same week as the results, there was news of further issues with the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines on some of its aircraft which may require additional checks for which the planes may have to be grounded, albeit temporary, at least for the duration of the inspections.
An airline that is as committed as IndiGo towards fleet renewal had to rely on inducting an old Airbus A320ceo to its fleet to make up for the shortfall.
P&W has had a chequered history in India, with the engine supplier falling behind in supplying replacement engines and/or parts, with Go First accusing the engine maker for its grounding.
How many P&W powered planes does IndiGo have?
As per last count, IndiGo has a fleet of 167 A320neo’s in its fleet. Of this, 112, or over 65 percent, are P&W-powered A320neo with the remaining using CFM Leap engines. IndiGo signed up with CFM in 2019 and followed it up with another deal in 2021 to power its A320neo family. The latest, record breaking order for 500 aircraft, which was placed at the Paris Air show, is due for delivery only after 2030 and thus the airline has time to select the engines. Given its track record, though, P&W is a long shot as the engine of choice.
IndiGo has an even larger order book for the A321neo. For now, it has 87 A321neo aircraft in fleet, only 25 or 28 percent of which are equipped with P&W engines, with the rest being powered by CFM. This means that if aircraft are grounded for lack of engines or parts, as has often been the case with planes with P&W engines, the airline has recourse to more of the higher capacity aircraft helping add capacity (by ASK or available seat kilometre) when needed. All the aircraft coming in the later part of 2020 are fitted with CFM engines.
Overall, in the narrow-body family comprising the A320neo and A321neo, 54 percent of the aircraft are powered by P&W GTF engines, a cause of worry if engine issues persist.
IndiGo traditionally kept an aircraft with itself for six years before returning it to the lessor, in the interest of costs and maintaining a young fleet. A lot has changed since the induction of A320neo. The initial delays, engine issues and more have meant that it continues to operate the A320ceo, which would have been out of its fleet as per initial plans, and has either re-inducted aircraft or increased lease duration of aircraft to tide over the crisis. With the last of its P&W-powered aircraft joining the airline in 2020, even with a six-year cycle the aircraft would be around until 2026, if not longer. In one of the analysts’ calls prior to COVID, then CEO Rono Dutta had hinted at longer lease cycles since newer technology is not expected in the market in the immediate future. We would well see the planes being around for longer. The hope, then, is that all issues with the engine are resolved and the grounded fleet is back in the air at the earliest.
Not a total write-off
The airline and the Indian regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came up with an assessment that called for the number of engines affected by the new P&W directive on engine inspections. Thankfully for the airline and its passengers, the number is relatively small and barring two that have not been called in for checks, all engines are currently on ground awaiting replacements.
Also Read: P&W's engine issues will affect some of our aircraft as well, says IndiGo CFO Gaurav Negi
As the airline launched four new international destinations in a short span in the last 10 days, two out of four new destinations saw the inaugurals being operated by the P&W-powered A320neos. These two routes, to Jakarta and Nairobi, are also among the longest of the new additions.
Also Read: IndiGo says working with Pratt & Whitney after latest engine inspection
Also, the airline has re-inducted a few aircraft to its fleet to tide over the crisis and these are from the initial deliveries. These, too, are powered by P&W. The engine manufacturer has time and again said that it is working closely with airlines that are impacted and trying its best to ensure the disruptions are low. Even as issues crop up, P&W has been on a roll recently having crossed 800 firm orders or commitments by June this year. Mexico’s Viva Aerobus selected P&W GTF engines to power its 90 aircraft in July.
Also Read: Pratt & Whitney issue may lead to engine change of 5 IndiGo aircraft: Reports
India is a rapidly growing aviation market. While Air India has already made a choice for its Airbus narrow-body order, and Boeing has only one engine option—CFM—P&W will have to strive hard to win back IndiGo as its customer. Unless the Airbus A220 or Embraer E2 family come to Indian skies, we could be headed for a P&W-mukt Bharat, which would not bode well for the engine manufacturer.
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