Summary
- Air Astana settles with Pratt&Whitney for faulty engines, needing to remove over 30 throughout this 12 months.
- The settlement goals to deal with costs and maintain operations of Airbus A320neo aircraft.
- Complex issues with PW1100G engines have led to the grounding of A320 fleets worldwide.
The Astana-based flag carrier has settled with engine manufacturer Pratt&Whitney. In keeping with ch-aviation, this regards the engines powering the airline’s backbone, the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. The airline is claimed to wish to remove 34 of the PW1100G engines throughout 2024.
Photo: Air Astana
In a Kazakhstan Stock Exchange filing on March twenty seventh, the airline is reported to have said the settlement The precise figure has yet to be made public. Its fleet has 14 thirteen A320neos, 4 A321neos, and 12 A321LRs. Overall, they represent the vast majority of the carrier’s aircraft. The upkeep downtime could severely impact the airline’s operations.
Easy Flying reached out to Pratt&Whitney for comment but was unable to receive a right away response.
Some background behind the PW1100G program
The affected engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney are called GTF (Geared Turbo Fan). The models are the PW1100G-JM and the PW1400G-JM. The Powerplants are a shared enterprise program, with Pratt & Whitney owning a 51% share. The engine is currently utilized on the A320neo family of aircraft.
![A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo on the ground](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/a-hawaiian-airlines-airbus-a321neo-on-the-ground-markus-mainka.jpg)
The Global Impact Of The Pratt & Whitney Engine Issues
The difficulty led to a $5.4 billion charge to RTX, parent company of Pratt & Whitney.
We have now covered the problem closely in a previous article. But let’s go over a number of the most notable problems affecting the fuel-efficient, next-generation high-bypass engines. Last 12 months, RTX, the parent company of P&W, disclosed a rare condition in powder metal used to fabricate certain engine parts. It constrained airlines to ground their A320 fleets and disassemble the engines for inspection. Some notable airlines include Cebu Pacific, Spirit Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Latest Zealand, Hawaiian Airlines, Viva Aerobus, IndiGo, and Volaris. The GTF engines have been reported to feature a flaw in several parts, including a faulty metal powder. These specific parts can corrode more quickly and cause cracks throughout the geared turbofan engines.
RTX Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes commented on the situation.
It is a complex and disappointing situation. We’re laser-focused on addressing this in probably the most expeditious and financially sound way forward.
Consequently, in 2023, it was expected that over 3,000 engines would must be inspected, impacting the worldwide fleet of the famous A320neo family.
Try this video when you wonder what the GTF engines sound like during takeoff.
Bottom line
Although these issues may concern some readers, you have to keep in mind that the aviation industry has a firm risk-mitigation culture. Because of this every fault, even when minor and even when it doesn’t affect the security of a flight, is reported, inspected, and glued. So, the undeniable fact that the airline is grounding a number of the jets and that manufacturers are taking steps to make sure the fault is mitigated proves that flying on GTF-powered jets stays exceptionally secure. Airlines like Icelandair proceed to decide on the manufacturer and their best-selling engines to power their future fleet of narrowbody aircraft.
What do you’re thinking that of those engine troubles? Have you ever flown on an A320neo recently? Tell us within the comments below!