No Singapore Airlines group A320neos with Pratt engines grounded: Scoot CEO

Published Wed, May 17, 2023 · 07:54 PM

The engines have been under scrutiny since Go Airlines (India) filed for bankruptcy protection this month, blaming “faulty” Pratt engines for the grounding of about half of its 54 Airbus A320neos. PHOTO: AFP

NONE of the Airbus A320neo planes in the Singapore Airlines group with Pratt & Whitney engines are currently grounded over a lack of spares, Leslie Thng, CEO of Scoot, the airline’s low-cost subsidiary, said on Wednesday (May 17).

The engines have been under scrutiny since Go Airlines (India) filed for bankruptcy protection this month, blaming “faulty” Pratt engines for the grounding of about half of its 54 Airbus A320neos.

Pratt, part of Raytheon Technologies, said the claims are without evidence and divert attention from the airline’s financial woes.

Scoot has 15 A320neo family planes in its fleet, while premium brand Singapore Airlines instead operates the rival Boeing 737 family.

“We are expecting to take more deliveries in coming years,” Thng said of the Airbus narrow-body planes.

His comments were in response to questions at a post-results briefing with analysts and media, after Singapore Airlines on Tuesday reported its first annual profit in four years and said the current year was off to a strong start.

SIA expects robust demand for near-term, peak periods this year

SIA’s board has recommended a final dividend of S$0.28 per share. Including the interim dividend of S$0.10 per share, the total dividend payout for the fiscal year stands at S$0.38 per share.

SIA posts record full-year earnings as demand recovery pushes H2 profit to S$1.2b

The low-cost carrier, recently rebranded as Go First, was plunged into financial crisis this year, sparked by what it called “faulty” Pratt & Whitney engines that grounded about half its 54 Airbus A320neos.

India's Go First airline gains bankruptcy protection, lessors' woes deepen

The airline, widely known as Go First, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, blaming “faulty” Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its 54 Airbus A320neo.

India's Go Airlines seeks urgent bankruptcy order, told to stop issuing tickets

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India’s IndiGo, Germany’s Lufthansa and Air New Zealand have said some of their aircraft have been grounded over issues with Pratt geared turbofan (GTF) engines at a time when spares are in short supply.

Prior to the Go Airlines (India) bankruptcy, 12 per cent of the A320neo family planes globally with Pratt GTF engines were inactive, compared to just 4 per cent of those with rival engines made by CFM International, aviation consultancy IBA said this month.

Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said in February that the GTF engines’ reliability has not been up to expectations and that the company was working to fix problems. REUTERS

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