Pratt & Whitney engines caused damage of Rs 10,000 crore to Go First: Wadia

Nusli Wadia said that P&W engines started failing right from the earliest delivery in 2017 'not just once, but several times'

Blaming Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of Go First airline, Wadia Group chairman Nusli Wadia has said that the US company has caused damage of over Rs 10,000 crore to the airline. In an interaction with the Economic Times (ET), Wadia said that P&W engines started failing right from the earliest delivery in 2017 "not just once, but several times". 

"Despite P&W searching for solutions to remedy the defects, they were unable to succeed," he said. "When P&W persuaded Go First to opt for their new engines, it was on the basis that the engine would be reliable and perform up to 1,000 hours before requiring maintenance."

Wadia added that before the Covid-19 pandemic, P&W repaired the engines for free and paid compensation for the grounded aircraft. However, after the pandemic, they started demanding payments for repair despite the contract saying otherwise.

By December 2022, the number of Go First aircraft grounded because of faulty engines rose to 53, costing the airline Rs 10,800 crore in losses and expenses.

In 2023, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre asked P&W to deliver 10 engines by April and 10 a month till December. Wadia said that P&W did not comply with the order.

Experts in the report added that P&W's actions may have a more significant implication as it is a key defence supplier to India. Moreover, the company's engines resulted in losses not only to the company but also to the overall economy.

A board member of the airline said that P&W did not pay the compensation or replace the faulty engines, and due to this, the IPO of Go First was called off. This was despite the promoters putting in an additional Rs 3,500 crore to revive the airline. 

Earlier this year, SpiceJet announced that it had expressed an interest in acquiring Go First. Its board has approved raising Rs 2,241.5 crore in fresh capital.