Pratt and Whitney to replace snag-prone A320 Neo aircraft engines

Following the tough stance of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the replacement of Pratt and Whitney’s (PW) snag-prone engines deployed in A320 Neo aircraft, the engine manufacturer is making fair progress with regard to the replacement programme for its clients. In India, IndiGo and GoAir together have 150 Neo aircraft with PW engines. In 2019, the DGCA stated that no Neo aircraft with even a single unmodified PW engine would be permitted to fly after May 31, 2020. So far, 200 engines have been replaced while another 100 remain. Issues faced by PW’s Neo engines include combustion chamber distress, low pressure turbine and gearbox failures, and engine vibrations. Meanwhile, PW is working towards establishing a maintenance, repair and overhaul unit in India, for which it has tied up with Air India Engineering Services Limited.