‘Infuriating’: Hawaiian’s CEO blasts P&W’s PW1100G response as airlines plan to ground more jets

Hawaiian Airlines’ CE has taken issue with how RTX and subsidiary Pratt & Whitney (P&W) apparently plan to handle its recall of PW1100G geared turbofans (GTFs), which power Hawaiian’s Airbus A321neos. CEO Peter Ingram is particularly peeved at the lack of spare PW1100Gs, noting airlines will be forced to ground jets as a result – even though P&W plans in the coming years to continue delivering new engines for installation on new Airbus jets. “It is infuriating to think that this is going to be borne by the airlines that are operating the airplanes, and… the guests of those airlines who want to be travelling on those aircraft,” Ingram tells FlightGlobal on 12 September. “I think there needs to be a level of respect paid to people who bought the aircraft already.” Airline heads globally are scrambling to trim their networks and rework fleet plans after RTX executives on 11 September revealed more fully the impact of defective high-pressure turbine and compressor disks in PW1100Gs – one of two engine options offered by Airbus for A320neo-family jets. <br/>