The issue of Pratt & Whitney engines which has been a troublesome affair for two of the budget carriers in India, GoAir and IndiGo is still going on. A while back it came to surface that IndiGo’s flying technique might be the reason why the airline was facing more issues than the competing airline, GoAir. However, now a new update has come on this matter involving the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Although there is some temporary relief for GoAir and IndiGo, still the government is going to increase scrutiny on the airlines. This decision by the government came after the engine manufacturer was able to convince that most of the engine failures happened in the rare instances with glitches.
GoAir and IndiGo Maintenance Costs to Increase
This extra scrutiny from the government is going to mean that IndiGo and GoAir are likely to increase their maintenance costs. These airlines will now be conducting boroscopic examination at 500 hours, instead of the previous limit of 1,500 hours. In this examination, the engines are checked remotely for any defects. Also, these airlines are unlikely to get ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Operational Performance Standard) approval which ensures that airlines can fly on routes, where the nearest airport for emergency landing is farther than 60 minutes. This means that IndiGo and GoAir might have to fly on the routes where the closest airport is 60 minutes away.
P&W Compensating Airlines for Commercial Loss
Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey remarked about this situation, “We did a root-cause analysis of the incidents that happened with Airbus A320neo. It was found in-flight shutdown happened only in 0.001 per cent cases. The number is lower than the global benchmark. But, since the largest share of the engines are being operated in India, we have decided that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will get in touch with US regulator Federal Aviation Administration and issue further safety protocol for the engines. It would be done in the next seven days.” It is also worth noting that P&W is compensating IndiGo and GoAir for the possible commercial loss.
