PARIS (Reuters) – The head of planemaker Airbus said on Wednesday U.S. engine maker Pratt & Whitney has been struggling to support its fleet of passenger jets with enough spare parts and engines.
CEO Guillaume Faury declined comment on a decision by India’s third-largest airline, Go First, to file for bankruptcy, which it blamed on problems with the durability of Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines on its Airbus 320neo jets.
“This being said, there are issues with in-service support of the GTF that are leading to airlines having planes with temporary issues, and planes ‘AOG’ (grounded), and this is something that we are very closely monitoring,” Faury told reporters during a results briefing.
Raytheon Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The world’s largest aerospace contractor told investors last week that time on wing – the period between maintenance visits – had improved but was “not yet at the level we and our customers expect”. The company said it was continuing to develop upgrades.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher)
