Indian LCCs to get spare engines by month end
IndiGo and Goair will receive engine replacements for 10 grounded Airbus A320neo aircraft by the end of September, according to local media reports.
The Deccan Herald reports that this was conveyed by Pratt and Whitney when they were called in by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently. The DGCA asked the Pratt and Whitney officials to treat India as a priority market from where they are getting good business.
The newspaper’s sources said they could understand if one or two aircraft are grounded but here the number is around 10 and it is a serious issue. IndiGo now has eight and GoAir two A320neos grounded.
"They have told us that they will treat these as priority cases. They have assured by September they would be able to supply new engines to these grounded aircraft," a senior official tells The Deccan Herald.
"They have assured us that they will provide about 40% of the new engines to Indian carriers. We wanted them to do that because a large number of aircraft are grounded.”
The DGCA had in April ordered a detailed inspection of the A320neo aircraft of IndiGo and GoAir that are equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines. The direction came after the DGCA took serious note of incidents where some IndiGo and GoAir flights had to make emergency landings due to engine issues.
In July, while discussing the carrier’s first quarter results, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh acknowledged the problem with the engines.
“Regrettably, there have been days when we have had to ground as many as nine A320neo planes due to lack of spare engines. While we do receive certain compensation from Pratt & Whitney for these groundings, the operational disruptions are quite challenging and we are not happy with that situation,” Ghosh said.