Indian carriers have begun returning grounded Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo to service after the US-based manufacturer began delivering spare PW1100G engines.
ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that all thirty-three A320neo (eight at GoAir and twenty-five at IndiGo Airlines) are now back in active service.
During a 2Q17/18 earnings call this week, the President of IndiGo, Aditya Ghosh, said the nine A320neo it had had to ground during the previous quarter, had now been supplied with replacement powerplants.
"The challenges associated with the neo engines and the shortage of spare engines from Pratt and Whitney led to the grounding of as many as 9 neo planes at its peak last quarter," he said. "We have started receiving some of the spare engines and we currently have no A320neo on the ground awaiting spare engines. Having said that, we continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the manufacturer to maintain sufficient spares."
IndiGo has confirmed it has been granted "credits" from both Pratt & Whitney and Airbus related to aircraft groundings and delivery delays.
According to India's Express, Pratt & Whitney has supplied a total of twenty spare A320neo engines to GoAir and IndiGo.
Last month, the Chairman of Pratt & Whitney's parent firm, United Technologies Corp., Gregory Hayes, said the firm was on track to certifying a combustor upgrade to incorporate into new PW1100G engines during the current quarter.
"With regard to the number three seal issue, you'll recall that production engines began receiving upgraded hardware back in the second quarter of this year and then ongoing retrofits were completed out in the field," he said during a conference call. "While we're still seeing some success with the actions we've taken to date, we're also looking at design alternatives that are expected to further improve durability in the engine. We'll continue to work closely with our customers to support their operations as future retrofits are completed."
Other Indian carriers that employ the A320neo, albeit those using CFM International LEAP-1A powerplants, include Air India with ten and Vistara with three. All thirteen are active at this time.
