Turkish Airlines and Air New Zealand have both given an update on how the Pratt & Whitney engine recall will affect their respective airlines.
Air New Zealand’s CEO, Greg Foran, told BusinessDesk, the flag-carrier would lease an additional Boeing 777-300 to compensate for the loss of its Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft while their engines are inspected for maintenance issues raised by Pratt & Whitney.
The Air NZ boss, who addressed shareholders at its AGM on September 26, 2023, said that the airline would dry lease the 777-300 as well as awaiting the arrival of the same aircraft from a previous order.
Turkish Airlines also confirmed that it expected to ground around a dozen A320 and A321neo aircraft.
“Our expectation is to ground 11-12 aircraft by the end of the year, but due to the uncertainties in the process, there is a possibility that this number will be revised upwards,” a spokesperson for the airline said on September 25, 2023.
According to MarketWatch the airline grounded nine of its Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft in August.
Turkish Airlines operates 58 Airbus A320 and A321neo jets, with 15 of those currently inactive.
“Our negotiations with the manufacturer on this issue continue. Since there are still unclear issues regarding the affected engines and maintenance plans, it seems possible that there will be changes in the quantities mentioned above in the coming period,” the spokesperson added.
In a recent update to investors, RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, said that between 600 and 700 PW1100G engines will have to be removed for inspections between 2023 and 2026.
RTX first disclosed the rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture parts of the PW1100G engine during the company’s Q2 2023 results presentation in July 2023.
At the time, the aerospace manufacturer said the problem would affect “a significant portion of the PW1100G-JM engine fleet”.
According to ch-aviation.com data, there are 1,359 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, including the A319neo, A320neo, and A321neo and its variants, powered by the PW1100G. Out of those, 242 are marked as being either in storage or undergoing maintenance.