“Microscopic contaminants” in the engines of manufacturer Pratt & Whitney risk taking over the schedules of many airlines in the coming months, which were already struggling to respond to the post-Covid recovery. “A significant part” of the PW1100G-JM engines, which power the Airbus 320neo, will have to undergo an early inspection within nine to twelve months due to a defect in a metal powder manufactured at parent company RTX (ex-Raytheon). from Pratt & Whitney. , and is used to make high-pressure turbine discs.
No immediate danger, just a risk of premature wear, the group said on July 25. This contamination potentially affects 1,200 engines produced between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2021, out of approximately 3,000 manufactured in total.
winter rotations
The US Aviation Authority (FAA) told AFP this week that it is “aware of the issue and is in contact with Pratt & Whitney and the affected US operators,” saying it “will ensure that all necessary measures are taken.” appropriate measures”. But almost no details have been leaked and the airlines were still, three weeks after the announcement, waiting for the moment to end their winter rotations, already complicated by shortages in their suppliers and problems related to the lack of manpower in the industry. aerial. .
The inspection of some 200 engines should start from mid-September, for a period of immobilization not specified at this stage. “It will depend mainly on the availability of maintenance bays and they are not very available at the moment,” Michel Merluzeau, of the specialized firm AIR, told AFP. To speed up the return to service, according to him, it would be possible to replace the engines susceptible to presenting this anomaly with new engines, but “the production rate is already very, very tense” due to supply problems.
In the lot withdrawn in September there are up to thirteen engines from the American low-cost company Spirit Airlines. Result? “Seven Neo aircraft will be withdrawn from service,” warned its boss Ted Christie. “The plan is to start removing them after Labor Day,” equivalent to Labor Day, which falls on September 4 this year in the United States and Canada, he added, adding that the company would cautiously consider these devices as not Available until the end of the year.
“No details or schedule”
Spirit has the largest number of aircraft equipped with this engine in the United States, and the largest number of engines built between 2015 and 2021. Its A320neo fleet currently numbers around 80 aircraft, according to its website. “This is a frustrating and disappointing new development,” lamented Ted Christie, recalling that several planes had already had to hangar with separate mechanical issues. “We are going to have the equivalent of at least 10 planes out of service for most of 2024,” he said.
The eighteen planes of the regional company Hawaiian Airlines were all delivered in the critical period, worried its boss Peter Ingram, recalling the recent prolonged immobilizations due to shortages of engine parts. With the announcement from Pratt & Whitney parent RTX, “we’ll see if we need to take steps in our schedules to reduce the impact of the aircraft shortage,” he said, showing optimism that many parts have been changed. the years during successive maintenance.
Lufthansa, Delta, Wizz Air…
The JetBlue company was warned that it was also part of the September batch, without further details, indicated its financial director, Úrsula Hurley, and specified that the group’s projections for the year did not include the impact of these fixed assets. According to various media, the German companies Lufthansa, American Delta, Indian Indigo, New Zealand Air New Zealand, the Hungarian Wizz Air and the Mexican Volaris are also concerned, on a lesser scale.
For Michel Merluzeau, this problem should not, however, encourage Airbus – which also sources engines from the consortium for its A320neo – to break with Pratt because “he seems very isolated”.
Source: BFM TV
