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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 ...
High GST rate on aircraft engine components has been forcing Pratt & Whitney to go abroad for engine maintenance despite having a collaboration with Air India's engineering subsidiary AIESL for the servicing, according to an industry source. Engine components attract as higher as 18 per cent goods and service tax (GST), which makes the business unviable in India, and the engine maker wants the government to bring it in parity with 5 per cent GST as in the case of aircraft components, the source said. In February, Pratt & Whitney (P&W), which has supplied its Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) engines in large numbers to IndiGo and GoAir for their Airbus A320neo family planes, inked a pact with Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) to service these engines at the latter's MRO facility in Mumbai. A P&W spokesperson in a statement to PTI, however, said that collaboration with AIESL remains strong, despite the challenges faced by the industry due to the coronavirus pandemic. "We .
The US-based aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney on Thursday announced that Air India's arm AIESL will maintain the company's geared turbofan (GTF) engines in the country. At present, Pratt & Whitney (P&W) has more than 700 aircraft in service in India, including more than 150 GTF-powered A320neo family aircraft. A320 neo planes have been grappling with snags for nearly four years. A substantial number of such neos are operated in India by IndiGo and GoAir. P&W has already a tie-up with Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) for maintenance of its 4056 engine model. These engines power Boeing 747-series aircraft. AIESL will service PW1100G-JM engines at its facility in Mumbai, P&W, which is a part of the United Technology Corporation (UTC), said in a release. PTI had reported it last week that P&W had signed an agreement with AIESL for its engine maintenance services in India. With AIESL performing maintenance on our high-tech GTF engines, we are excited .
An IndiGo A320 neo plane flying to Bengaluru on Thursday experienced high engine vibrations mid-air and returned to Mumbai airport, according to a senior official. There were 180 passengers on board the aircraft. Many A320 neo aircraft of the no-frills carrier that are powered by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines have been facing engine woes. The aircraft, flying from Mumbai to Bengaluru, was involved in an air turnback due to high vibrations in one of its engines. The plane has been grounded at Mumbai, the regulatory official told PTI. The official also said the plane made a safe landing and that the incident would be investigated. An IndiGo spokesperson said that during the flight, the pilot observed a caution message. "Standard operating procedures were followed and the aircraft returned to Mumbai as a precaution. The aircraft is currently under inspection at Mumbai," the spokesperson said. In the wake of persisting P&W engine problems, the Directorate General of Civil ...
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to budget carrier IndiGo's chief operating officer and engineering head over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues, sources close to the development said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also conducting a special safety audit of the airline's operations and engineering, they said. Indian carriers IndiGo and GoAir, which have Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320 neo planes, have been facing problems with these engines, manufactured by the US firm, since their induction in the fleet three years ago. "The DGCA issued show-cause notice last week to IndiGo's chief operating officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and engineering head S C Gupta over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues," a source said. "The aviation regulator is also conducting a special safety audit of the airline after coming across issues in its operations and engineering," he said. Queries sent to Prock-Schauer and IndiGo spokesperson remained ...