P&W engine issues to lead to more aircraft grounding in March qtr: IndiGo

The country's largest airline IndiGo on Friday said there will be more grounding of aircraft due to the Pratt & Whitney engine issues in the fourth quarter and is taking a range of mitigating measures.

Currently, around 40 planes of the airline are grounded due to the engine issues, according to a senior airline official.

IndiGo, which had a fleet of 334 aircraft at the end of September, is taking various measures, including taking planes on wet lease, retaining ceo aircraft and also leasing additional ceo planes from the secondary market.

Against the backdrop of powder metal issues flagged by P&W, IndiGo's Chief Financial Officer Gaurav M Negi said globally, the airline understands that a large number of incremental engines are being removed for shop visits between 2023 and 2026, and a majority of incremental engine removals are planned for 2023 and early 2024.

"Our current estimate is that these accelerated inspections and incremental shop visits will further adversely impact our operational fleet from the fourth quarter (January-March period) onwards, which is post January 2024 and will lead to a higher number of grounding.

"We are in constant touch with our OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to navigate these challenges," Negi said during an earnings call to discuss the September quarter results.

As part of mitigating measures, the airline is looking at various options, including exploring additional capacity from the secondary market, Negi said.

"We have taken a whole range of measures... in living up to our capacity guidance of north of mid-teens (for this fiscal)," IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said, adding that there is a lot of focus with respect of grounding of aircraft.

In the three months ended September, IndiGo posted a net profit of Rs 188.9 crore.