Following Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) announcement on the accelerated removal of engines from Airbus A320Neo aircraft, IndiGo said it is is working closely with the US-headquartered firm to minimise the impact on its operations.
IndiGo is the largest airline in India and operates a mix of Airbus and ATR aircraft. Its Airbus A320/ 321 aircraft are powered by P&W and CFM engines. At present, the airline has around 130 P&W powered Airbus planes.
Go First, which suspended operations onMay 2, also uses P&W engines. It did not offer any comment.
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"We are in receipt of the information from P&W regarding the outcome of the latest inspection of their engine. We are working closely with P&W to assess and minimise any potential impact to our fleet,” IndiGo said in a statement.
On Tuesday, P&W said that accelerated engine removals were required due to issues related to powdered metal used in manufacture of engine parts. Following inspections, the OEM said a rare condition in that powdered metal would reduce the life of engine parts.
“Based on the current assessment, Pratt anticipates that approximately 200 PW1100 engines (used on A320Neo) will be removed for enhanced inspection by mid-September. Beyond the initial 200 engines, Pratt also anticipates that approximately 1,000 additional PW1100 engines will need to be removed from the operating fleet for this inspection within the next 9 to 12 months, but the exact number of engines and the timing of those removals is not yet finalised,” the company said in an investor call.