Number of parked jets with Pratt engines stable at one-third of fleet

The operational impact of Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) PW1000G engine recall appears to have remained relatively steady in recent months, with one-third of all jets with the powerplants still parked, roughly the same as in April. That is according to fleet-data provider Cirium, which tracks the number of aircraft that have been removed from service, providing a rough indication about the extent to which P&W’s recall has forced the grounding of passenger jets. The Connecticut-based engine maker began recalling the geared turbofans (GTFs) last year due powder-metal manufacturing errors that left some engines with defective metallic components. That problem and other supply chain snags have left the world’s airlines with significantly fewer operational jets than planned. It has also reportedly eased what had been an acute pilot shortage. On 23 August, 647 aircraft with PW1000G-series turbofans were in storage, equating to 30% of the entire GTF-powered fleet, according to Cirium. The balance of the fleet – another 1,475 jets – were in service. Affected aircraft include PW1100G-powered Airbus A320neo-family jets, PW1500G-powered A220s and PW1900G-powered Embraer E-Jet E2s. The latest figures show that the number of grounded jets has remained relatively even compared to April, when 637 GTF-powered aircraft – 32% of the fleet at the time – were parked.<br/>