As GoFirst blame game continues, lid blows off Pratt & Whitney engine fiascos beyond India

Pratt & Whitney said that Go First has a history of missing financial obligations. The US engine manufacturer refused to divulge more details, saying the matter is sub judice.

When Go First announced its decision to suspend operations earlier this week, it blamed Pratt & Whitney for its troubles. The airline also said the engine maker has not complied with the emergency arbitration award granted by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

Pratt & Whitney said that Go First has a history of missing financial obligations. The US engine manufacturer refused to divulge more details, saying the matter is sub judice.

Interestingly, while Go First suspended operations, the engine issue is not an Indian phenomenon. A day after Go First grounded its fleet, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said on an earnings call that a third of the A220s of subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines is grounded due to engine issues.
Pratt & Whitney is the exclusive engine option for the Airbus A220 aircraft, while the A320neo family comes with two options – Pratt & Whitney or CFM.

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P&W saga in India

Go First (then Go Air) ordered 72 Airbus A320neo aircraft in mid-2011. This was followed by an order with Pratt & Whitney for engines to power these planes. Ironic as it may seem, the airline’s A320ceo planes were powered by CFM engines. The five A320ceos in the fleet continue to be powered by CFM.
IndiGo, one of the early operators of the A320neo, also opted for Pratt & Whitney engines.

IndiGo’s A320ceo planes were powered by engines from IAE, partly owned by Pratt & Whitney. As the A320neo induction got delayed, IndiGo ended up operating A320ceos with CFM engines as well as taking planes from the open market to fill the gap in its fleet.

IndiGo moved to CFM in 2019 to power its next set of A320neo family planes. Go First, on the other hand, placed a follow-on order for another 72 aircraft with Airbus and also with Pratt & Whitney for the engines. While IndiGo has started receiving engines from CFM, which now power a large part of its fleet, Go First is yet to take delivery of all planes first ordered in 2011.

Issues worldwide too

The problems aren’t limited to India.

Air Baltic, the all-A220 operator, said it would induct four A320 planes on wet lease to tide over the shortage of planes. In March, Air Tanzania and Air Senegal decided to collaborate to mitigate issues arising out of the grounding of planes powered by Pratt & Whitney engines.

The problem was compounded by the lack of slots at engine repair shops, even as Pratt & Whitney went around increasing the number of such repair shops and inventory to better manage shop visits of engines.

IndiGo, Lufthansa and others have always praised the engine and acknowledged the savings generated, but life on the wing seems to be a challenge.

What are the issues?

There have been claims and counterclaims on issues with Pratt & Whitney engines, but the end result has been that they spend less time on the wings than promised, leading to the need for replacement much earlier than planned and advertised.

The geared turbofan engine has had issues since its induction, with Qatar Airways refusing to take delivery, leading to Lufthansa becoming the launch customer. Lufthansa then publicly said it was not willing to add more commercial flights with the Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo. There have been incidents that needed software updates and also cases of in-flight shutdown (IFSD), including for Go First.

After a spate of incidents with Go First and IndiGo, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian regulator, was forced to take note and suggested ways of mitigating the issue, which involved checks earlier than what the manufacturer recommended.

In effect, Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neos have been grounded for one reason or the other since induction. At one point, the aircraft was not allowed to operate to certain airports and had restrictions on extended range operations without a diversion airfield. Gradually, the restrictions were lifted as the issues with IFSD subsided.

A reminder of Kingfisher

Kingfisher Airlines, then the market leader in Indian skies, faced similar issues. It was often cited that weather conditions in the Indian subcontinent made the engines experience wear and tear faster than in Western countries. IndiGo, which also operated the same engines in the same environment, had a contract in place for engine replacement to cover defects.

Kingfisher Airlines could not shore up the resources needed for frequent engine replacements and also become a victim of the cutthroat Indian market.

Tail Note

Sooner or later, regulators and governments are going to step in. While Pratt & Whitney has claimed it is working very hard to resolve the issues, there has never been a complete resolution since the engines entered service. When one issue was settled, another came up. How long will the Go First issue get dragged on? What do the courts say?

Airbus, which has been trying to hard-sell the A220, will also face challenges with Pratt & Whitney, the only engine on offer for the aircraft. Airbus has an equal stake in an early resolution if not more.