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GoAir customers must brace themselves for delays, cancellations and rescheduling of flights.
The no-frill carrier on Thursday announced that it will be cancelling certain flights as Airbus and Pratt & Whitney have expressed their inability to deliver previously-promised aircraft and engines.
“In the last four weeks, we have carried out unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting our current operation of fleet. And now, we have been informed by our business partners Airbus and Pratt & Whitney of their inability to deliver previously-promised aircraft and engines through March 9, 2020 that are required to support our current growth,” GoAir said in a statement. It added, “As a result, we have been forced to temporarily suspend certain flights that are part of our network, schedule and open for sale.”
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Operational issues
GoAir had placed a firm order of 144 Airbus A320neo aircraft, which was in line with the airline’s business plan to post double-digit growth through 2025. GoAir’s aircraft are fitted with Pratt & Whitney’s engines. Non-availability of spare engines from the manufacturer also added to its operational challenges.
Indian authorities had instructed the country’s Airbus A320neo operators to replace the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines with an upgraded version by the end of January 2020. IndiGo and GoAir each have the PW1100G on their A320neo fleets.
Earlier, the DGCA had extended the deadline for Indigo to replace the similar types of engines from January 31 to May 31.
According to sources, GoAir has been given extension till May 31 for the same. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus in a statement said, “it is supporting the engine-maker to maintain the schedule for engine deliveries and support GoAir’s smooth operations.”
‘Monitoring the situation’
Daniel D’souza, President and Country Head, Leisure, SOTC Travel, said: “In the light of the recent statement issued by GoAir, we are in touch with our on-ground team to understand the situation. As it is still at a nascent stage, we have not received many queries, but we are monitoring the situation. We are working towards minimising the impact and inconvenience caused to our customers.”
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