Airlines rush to avoid cancellations after engine recall
Airlines in the US and Europe are rushing to find spare parts and engines and avoid flight cancellations after engine-maker Pratt & Whitney issued a product recall last month. P&W’s announcement in July that more than a thousand engines would need to be removed from Airbus aircraft and inspected has forced a number of airlines — including Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Hawaiian Airlines in the US, and Wizz Air in Europe — to change flight schedules or ground aircraft. Wizz has cut its growth target, is considering temporarily scrapping some flights or routes, and had warned that the engine problems are putting pressure on maintenance operations. Spirit told investors this month that with fewer aircraft to fly “we will likely be overstaffed” in Q4 and early in 2024. JetBlue COO Joanna Geraghty told investors this month that the company was looking to lease engines to minimise the fallout of removing “a handful” of engines from aircraft next month. “We are trying to take whatever self-help measures are available,” she said. “But as you know, the supply is pretty constrained.” P&W issued the recall after it discovered that contamination in the metal used to manufacture certain engine parts could cause cracks. Parent company RTX said that about 1,200 of the company’s 3,000 geared turbofan engines would need to be inspected earlier than planned. Roughly 200 of these inspections will take place by mid-September. The GTF engine, which was introduced in 2016, is one of two that can be used in the Airbus A320neo narrow-body jet, the world’s best-selling aircraft. The recalls threaten RTX’s free cash flow, said Melius Research analyst Rob Spingarn, but “arguably worse is the damage to Pratt’s reputation as a provider of reliable large commercial engines”. RTX has promised to compensate airlines. CE Greg Hayes said on an earnings call last month that the recall was “not an existential threat” to either RTX or P&W, but he acknowledged, “it will be expensive”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-15/general/airlines-rush-to-avoid-cancellations-after-engine-recall
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Airlines rush to avoid cancellations after engine recall
Airlines in the US and Europe are rushing to find spare parts and engines and avoid flight cancellations after engine-maker Pratt & Whitney issued a product recall last month. P&W’s announcement in July that more than a thousand engines would need to be removed from Airbus aircraft and inspected has forced a number of airlines — including Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Hawaiian Airlines in the US, and Wizz Air in Europe — to change flight schedules or ground aircraft. Wizz has cut its growth target, is considering temporarily scrapping some flights or routes, and had warned that the engine problems are putting pressure on maintenance operations. Spirit told investors this month that with fewer aircraft to fly “we will likely be overstaffed” in Q4 and early in 2024. JetBlue COO Joanna Geraghty told investors this month that the company was looking to lease engines to minimise the fallout of removing “a handful” of engines from aircraft next month. “We are trying to take whatever self-help measures are available,” she said. “But as you know, the supply is pretty constrained.” P&W issued the recall after it discovered that contamination in the metal used to manufacture certain engine parts could cause cracks. Parent company RTX said that about 1,200 of the company’s 3,000 geared turbofan engines would need to be inspected earlier than planned. Roughly 200 of these inspections will take place by mid-September. The GTF engine, which was introduced in 2016, is one of two that can be used in the Airbus A320neo narrow-body jet, the world’s best-selling aircraft. The recalls threaten RTX’s free cash flow, said Melius Research analyst Rob Spingarn, but “arguably worse is the damage to Pratt’s reputation as a provider of reliable large commercial engines”. RTX has promised to compensate airlines. CE Greg Hayes said on an earnings call last month that the recall was “not an existential threat” to either RTX or P&W, but he acknowledged, “it will be expensive”.<br/>
