Hundreds of aircraft worldwide will be grounded over the next few years owing to problems with Pratt & Whitney engines, in a $3b hit to parent RTX and another setback for airlines already struggling to meet soaring post-pandemic travel demand. The US aerospace and defence group, formerly known as Raytheon, said P&W will recall 600-700 engines from 2023 to 2026, leading to the grounding of an average 350 aircraft a year. RTX said it would post a charge of up to about $3.5b in Q3, mostly owing to compensating its customers, and $1.5b less in free cash flow in 2025, a greater hit than it initially signalled in July. The Arlington, Virginia-based company now expects full-year sales of $67.5b to $68.5b compared to $67.1b in 2022. It had raised guidance in July for sales of between $73b and $74b. Shares in RTX, which have been declining since it disclosed the metal problem in July, were down almost 7% in morning trading in New York. The group said in July that contaminants in the powdered metal used to make its PW1100G-JM geared turbofan engines installed in Airbus aircraft meant that some of its engines would need to be inspected earlier than anticipated. The problem could cause cracks in the high-pressure turbine discs during manufacture and the company “found cracks that were larger than we had anticipated”, Chris Calio, the COO, told analysts on Monday. Greg Hayes, CE, described the disruption as “frustrating”, adding that it will “have a significant impact on our customers, on our partners and on RTX”. When each engine is removed from the wing of an A320neo narrow-body jet, it will take an average of between 250 and 300 days for the aeroplane to be returned to its airline. Calio warned that the engine inspections and any replacements “will create more congestion” in the company’s maintenance, repair and overhaul network, which have already delayed turnaround times because of problems getting materials.<br/>
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RTX Corp.’s plan to address the latest flaw in its marquee commercial jet engine will ground hundreds of Airbus A320neo aircraft over the next three years, a fresh source of disruption to global airlines’ post-pandemic recovery. Shop visits for accelerated inspections and repairs to key components in Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine made from tainted metal powder will take up to 300 days each to complete and result in an average of 350 aircraft being parked per year through 2026, peaking at about 650 planes in early 2024, RTX executives said Monday on a call with analysts. “This is obviously a difficult and disappointing situation for our customers, for our partners and for Pratt & Whitney and our share owners,” Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes said. “We’re laser focused on addressing this in the most expeditious and financially sound way forward.” The fallout highlights the sweeping impact to the global fleet from the latest problem with Pratt’s geared turbofan engine, one of two power plants offered on the top-selling Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. That may complicate efforts by airlines to increase capacity and flight service to meet steady post-Covid lockdown demand for travel. RTX cut its full-year sales outlook and will take a roughly $3b charge in Q3 tied to the plan to address the flawed parts, which will involve compensating airlines for the disruption to their operations. <br/>
Strike action by French air traffic controllers later this week could see the plans of thousands of Irish rugby fans hoping to go to Nantes for Saturday’s match against Tonga booted into touch before kick-off. Another mass walk out orchestrated by France’s largest union for air traffic controllers is scheduled to take place on Friday with Ireland’s second group game scheduled to kick off at 9pm local time on Saturday. And while Ryanair and Aer Lingus have played down mass cancellations, the impact of the strike on Irish rugby fans is still up in the air. People who booked flights for the day of the game are likely to be okay – although previous air traffic control strikes in France have tended to impact flights at least to some degree even after they end. The key day will be Friday and those who have planned to make a weekend of it by flying out the day before might find their travel plans in disarray.<br/>
The Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) has agreed to Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit's suggestion to reopen unused flight slots to expand commercial air traffic at airports. The association also supports the government's push for an airport to be built in Phangnga, according to AAT president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth. Puttipong, also president of Bangkok Airways, said AAT would ask to see Suriya to discuss a recovery plan for the tourism and airline industries. The association represents Thailand-based carriers -- Thai VietJet Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Bangkok Airways, Thai Lion Air, and Nok Air. The discussion will help set a direction for the recovery of the aviation industry and contribute to sustainable progress in the tourism sector, he said. Puttipong said the association backs Suriya's call on Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang to surrender unused flight slots held by the Royal Thai Air Force at airports under AoT management. The slots need to be freed up to increase the number of commercial flights served by the airports by 100-150 per day, he said.<br/>
Cambodia registered 3.4m air travelers during the first eight months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 180%, said a report released by the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation on Monday. The report said international and domestic airlines had operated a total of 33,146 flights to the South-East Asian kingdom's three international airports during the January-August period this year, a year-on-year rise of 114%. State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Sinn Chanserey Vutha said Cambodia is forecast to attract around 4.6m air passengers this year, an expected increase from 2.38m last year. "For 2023, we predict that the number of air passengers will be doubled thanks to China's reopening earlier this year, which has injected fresh impetus into the development of the aviation industry," he told Xinhua. According to the report, in contrast to the rise in air passengers, Cambodia saw a 10% drop in air cargo volume to 34,881 tonnes during the first eight months of this year.<br/>