Summary
- airBaltic expects problems with Pratt & Whitney’s engines to be resolved by November, reducing the necessity for wet-leased aircraft.
- The airline plans to eliminate wet-leased aircraft from its fleet by November but may consider them in the long run for peak summer demand.
- airBaltic is the second-largest operator of the A220 worldwide and is in discussions with Airbus for fleet expansion, because the A220 has been highly popular with passengers.
airBaltic has revealed that it expects the issues with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1500G engines to be resolved by November. The carrier’s fleet of Airbus A220s has been heavily impacted by the well-documented problems, resulting in the airline needing to wet lease aircraft with a purpose to fulfill its summer operation.
Not depending on wet-leased aircraft
Data from ch-aviation.com shows that airBaltic currently has six wet-leased aircraft in its fleet – one Airbus A319 from Carpatair, 4 A320s from Avion Express Malta, and one A321 from Fly2Sky. That is down from a peak of 13 earlier in the summertime.
Photo: Arseniy Shemyakin Photo | Shutterstock
Even though it plans to cut back the variety of wet-leased aircraft in its fleet to zero by November, the airline has not ruled out wet leasing more aircraft in the long run, particularly in the height summer months, to fulfill increasing demand.
In an interview with Aviation Day by day, the airline’s CEO, Martin Grauss, explained the present situation, saying,
“The engine issue is easing in the meanwhile, we get many engines back from service – with that, after all, the pressure reduces to take so many wet leases, so we now have loads less flying now. We’ll soon come to a situation where we now have no engines missing.”
Pratt & Whitney was forced to recall its PW1500G engines, that are installed on various aircraft, including the Airbus A220 and A320, because of microscopic cracks. The impacts have been felt the world over, affecting a complete of 57 airlines.
Photo: Karolis Kavolelis | Shutterstock
The issues led to some carriers reconsidering their alternative of aircraft, with Air Senegal canceling its order for eight A220s because of this. airBaltic was particularly affected, as its entire fleet is made up of A220s.
The second-largest operator of the A220
airBaltic received its forty fourth Airbus A220 aircraft earlier this month, and is awaiting delivery of an extra six, bringing its future total to 50, making it the second-largest operator of the A220 worldwide, behind Delta Air Lines.
The newest aircraft arrival follows a bumper summer, which saw airBaltic carry over a million passengers within the months of July and August. The airline’s young fleet has a median age of just 3.4 years old, with each A220 carrying between 145 and 148 passengers, depending on the configuration. airBaltic was the launch customer for the A220-300 back in 2016, while SWISS was the launch customer for the smaller A220-100.
Photo: Renatas Repcinskas I Shutterstock
The airline expects future fleet growth, and is currently reported to be in discussions with Airbus over the exercising of 30 purchase options for the A220. This is not any surprise, because the A220 has been successful with passengers, with Grauss adding,
Have you ever flown on a wet lease aircraft operating for airBaltic this summer? What do you think that of the airline’s predictions of a return to normality by November? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.