Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) expects up to four of its A321-200Ns to be grounded at any one time because of the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine recall issue.
Hawaiian operates eighteen A321-200Ns on routes to California, Nevada, and Oregon, as well as some inter-island flights. Presently, two of those aircraft are grounded and awaiting engine inspections. Calling it a "significant near-term challenge," CEO Peter Ingram told an earnings call the airline had also seen several engine removals not associated with the powdered metal inspection issue, saying those removals had contributed to an increased flight cancellation in the early days of the current quarter.
"We expect to have between two and four aircraft out of service at any point in time over the next few months," Ingram said, adding that the current schedules can accommodate up to four out of service aircraft. "We expect the situation for 2024 will improve as our engine inventory will be bolstered by the return of several engines that are already in the MRO pipeline.
In July, Pratt & Whitney's owner, RTX, disclosed that "a rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture certain engine parts" for PW1100G engines between 2015 and 2020 could result in micro-cracks and fatigue, necessitating an engine recall that is now impacting airlines worldwide.
The CEO said Hawaiian Airlines had reached terms with Pratt & Whitney on short-term compensation over their failure to supply the required engine spares, but that compensation agreement will expire later this year. Ingram says discussions with Pratt & Whitney about further compensation beyond the scope of the current deal are ongoing. Ingram says he wants more certainty around engine availability so the airline can plan more effectively over the medium and long term.
To help cover capacity shortfalls, Hawaiian Airlines recently extended the leases on four A330-200s due to be returned in 2024. The two-year extensions will see the planes now go back to their lessors in 2026. Hawaiian Airlines has more than four A330s with leases set to expire next year. However, according to ch-aviation fleets data, no one lessor has that many A330s placed at the airline. Macquarie AirFinance has two A330s at Hawaiian due to return next year, while Avolon, Doric Asset Finance, and Air Lease Corporation each have one A330 scheduled to return in 2024. Speaking on the same earnings call, Hawaiian Airlines CFO Shannon Okinaka said, "the extensions will collectively enable us to maintain our network plans and mitigate the impact of ongoing A321 engine challenges."
