Aircraft engine maker P&W bosses fly to India to soothe customers' worries

Senior executives meet industry leaders and civil aviation secretary after slow delivery of engines

The top brass of Pratt & Whitney (P&W), the US-headquartered aircraft engine manufacturer, flew down to India last month to address customer concerns, scout new business and review investments in the country.

The visit came in the backdrop of supply chain disruption that has slowed down engine deliveries and upset flight schedules.

P&W powers around 180 Airbus A320Neo aircraft flown by Go First and IndiGo. Its engines also power turboprop aircraft such as ATR-72 and Bombardier Q-400 flown by Alliance Air, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

The company has been associated with Indian aviation for seven decades. It has invested in a customer training facility and is developing an engineering centre in India.

However, in recent weeks it has received bad press due to grounding of over 55 plus Airbus A320Neo aircraft.

Senior executives who visited India included P&W president Shane Eddy and president of its commercial engine division Rick Deurloo. The two met officials at Go First and IndiGo and briefed them about resolution efforts. The executives said P&W is aggressively working on resolution of supply chain disruption and would be in much better shape by the end of the year, said a person aware of the matter.

The P&W executives also met civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal, who expressed concern over the grounding of planes.

P&W did not respond to emailed queries. A source close to the company said that the supply chain challenges had impacted the entire aerospace sector. The company however expects pressure to ease in due course. Already there are some signs of easing. According to a Go First official, the airline expects delivery of up to 16 engines this month.

Eddy and Deurloo also met executives working on the revival of Jet Airways.

Jet Airways was grounded in April 2019 and its revival is facing a hiccup owing to differences between lenders and Kalrock-Jalan consortium which won the bid to revive the airline. The consortium has been negotiating with aircraft and engine OEMs to finalise its aircraft plans.

P&W lost out to rival engine manufacturer CFM which won the contract to supply engines to 590 IndiGo aircraft in two separate orders. Thus P&W is desperate to recover some lost ground in the Indian market.

However sources close to company point out that India will require more than 2,000 aircraft over the next two decades to support the growth in air traffic. A majority of these would be narrow body planes, and P&W will continue to compete aggressively to tap business in India.

On the military side, P&W engines will power the C-295 transport aircraft that the Indian Air Force has chosen to replace its ageing Avro aircraft. As many as 40 of these planes will be manufactured by Airbus-Tata consortium in Vadodara while sixteen will be delivered in a flyaway condition from Spain.