Air Transat parent secures C$37m compensation package for P&W engine woes

Canada’s Transat AT, parent of Air Transat, reports a profitable fiscal fourth quarter boosted by a C$37m ($26m) compensation agreement with geared turbofan (GTF) engine maker Pratt & Whitney. The Montreal-based company said on 12 December that it recorded a C$41m fiscal fourth-quarter profit, compared with an C$89m profit during the period ending 31 October of last year. Revenue for the period was up about 3%, year on year, to C$789m. CE Annick Guerard attributes the results to ”higher traffic, lower fuel costs and financial compensation from P&W related to grounded aircraft over the past two years”. P&W is amidst a years-long recall of GTF engines for potential manufacturing defects, which has grounded hundreds of Airbus A320neos, A220s and Embraer E-Jet E2s worldwide. Cirium fleet data shows leisure-focused airline Air Transat has seven A321neos listed as “in storage”, meaning they have been grounded for more than 30 days. The jets could be in storage for reasons beyond GTF engine inspections and repairs. Transat has 12 A321LRs in service, according to Cirium. The carrier previously disclosed reaching terms with P&W for a compensation package but did not provide financial details at the time. <br/>