Japan’s ANA will cut flights to inspect Pratt engines on 33 Airbus jets

ANA Holdings Inc. said it will need to inspect Pratt & Whitney engines on 33 of its Airbus SE narrowbody jets from January, resulting in a reduction of international and domestic flights and an ¥8 billion ($53 million) hit to revenue. 

Airlines globally have been impacted by required checks on Pratt’s geared turbofan engines, and ANA said it would seek compensation from the company, a unit of RTX Corp. The engines are on 11 A320neo planes and 22 A321neos. 

“Inspection and replacement procedures are set well in advance to ensure safety,” the Japanese carrier said in a statement Tuesday. “There is no impact on the safety of our operations.” 

The issues stem from contaminated metal powder entering the manufacturing process and potentially affecting internal engine parts made between 2015 and 2021. Checks of each engine take 250 to 300 days, ANA said, citing Pratt. 

They will be removed for checking before replacement deadlines specified by the manufacturer, ANA said.

Because of the issue, the airline will operate 30 fewer daily flights from Jan. 10 to the end of March, a reduction of 3.6%, it said. 

ANA also said Tuesday its second-quarter operating profit was ¥85.95 billion, which easily beat analysts’ average estimate of ¥61.91 billion.