Pratt engine woes grounded Go First planes for 17,000 days

Faults with engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney to Go Airlines India Ltd. forced the budget carrier to keep part of its fleet of brand-new Airbus SE jets on the ground for a total of 17,244 days over the past three years, according to a legal filing in a Delaware court. 

“There have been numerous, persistent, and continuing technical issues with the defective GTF Engines supplied by Pratt,” the carrier, which sought insolvency protection this week, said in a filing dated April 28. Pratt has failed to comply with an arbitration order in Singapore that mandated it to supply spare engines and parts to the airline, leading to “a significant risk that Go First will go out of business and be forced to declare bankruptcy,” according to the filing. 

The airline had to ground 30.5% of its Airbus A320neo fleet in 2020, 25.6% in 2021, and 33.9% in 2022, as Pratt failed to provide new engines and spares. That added up to a total equivalent of more than 47 years of potential flying time between January 2020 to February 2023 when aircraft were forced to be on the ground.

A representative for Pratt & Whitney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Go Airlines was re-branded Go First ahead of a planned 36 billion rupee ($440 million) initial share sale last year, which didn’t materialize. A local bankruptcy court is due to hear the carrier’s insolvency petition Thursday morning in India.

Pratt & Whitney, which spent $10 billion to develop a new engine only to meet with delivery delays and multiple issues leading to mid-air shutdowns in the past, has disputed the claims. The unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp. said the Go Air matter is subjudice, and it continues to prioritize delivery schedules for all customers. 

While the enginemaker acknowledged it is bound to honor the arbitration award in an April 3 communication, it informed Go Air that no spare leased engines are available, according to the court filing. The engines due to be released from repair shops were committed to other customers before the arbitration award was announced, Pratt told Go Air, the filing showed.