Mint Primer | How long before IndiGo can fly its grounded fleet?

IndiGo’s flight expansion plan is facing headwinds due to the grounding of over 70 aircraft on account of problems with its Pratt & Whitney engines. The grounding has implications for the aviation sector and air fares. Is there a resolution in sight? Mint explains.

Why were the planes grounded?

The key reason is problems with the combustion chamber of Pratt & Whitney’s Gear Turbo Fan (GTF) engines. Detected in 2020, they impacted airlines across the world. Hot climate and dust in the atmosphere caused problems for the engines. Airlines in India and West Asia were, therefore, more impacted. This problem shortened the life cycle of an engine—every engine can run for a certain number of hours but Pratt & Whitney’s engines didn’t meet that benchmark. In a normal scenario, the engines would have been replaced quickly. But supply chain issues, post the covid-19 pandemic, impacted deliveries.

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What is the situation today with IndiGo?

IndiGo already has over 70 aircraft grounded due to the unavailability of engines. That number has stabilized for some time now—this indicates that the situation may not worsen. The airline is still reporting engine failures in the range of 5-15 per month. For now, Pratt & Whitney has been supplying enough engines for the airline to be able to replace the failed ones. Other than the engine issue, IndiGo’s grounding record is one of the lowest across the world. The airline practices ‘predictive’ maintenance. Apart from technical headwinds, planes can be grounded because of bird hits and challenges with airports.

When did the grounding peak and stabilize?

The airline’s grounding peaked during the first quarter of this calendar year and the grounding numbers have not increased in the past four months. The airline does not see it going beyond the 70-plus number and the expansion of flights by the airline will continue with new aircraft joining its fleet. IndiGo also takes aircraft on short- and medium-term lease.

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When will the planes be redeployed?

The airline may not be able to fly these planes for the next six months. However, IndiGo is hopeful of a way out, as the engine maker is working on India-specific solutions to ensure engine failures are kept to the minimum. One solution could be improving the coating of the combustion chamber, which could help reduce heating problems in the chamber. There is also optimism as new engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney are reportedly giving better performance in terms of improved life cycles.

Is this impacting Indian aviation?

IndiGo, the largest carrier, made up 62.4% of the passengers flown in August. Due to its sheer size, any move by IndiGo impacts the market. While its capability to add flights was slightly impacted due to the grounding, it has overcome this by adding older aircraft on short- and medium-term leases and through the induction of their scheduled deliveries from its order book of about 950. The return of the stranded planes will help cool fares, which are about 30% higher now compared with the same period last year.

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