Lufthansa Group has temporarily grounded a third of SWISS’ Airbus A220 fleet in Zurich due to issues with Pratt & Whitney engines. This development highlights the challenges airlines face in grappling with defects as the crucial summer travel season approaches. Lufthansa’s decision to idle these narrow-body aircraft follows the grounding of three other brand-new aircraft fitted with Pratt engines.
airBaltic leases more aircraft due to engine problems with the A220
During an earnings call with analysts, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr explained that «elements are missing way down in their supply chains, and companies need to rebuild their production facilities.» Lufthansa operates 30 A220s through its Swiss subsidiary, which suggests that approximately 10 aircraft are currently grounded. As the airline looks to renew its regional jet fleet, it is contemplating a significant increase in A220 orders, according to Bloomberg News.
Airlines worldwide are struggling with engine and spare parts shortages, particularly for their latest-generation narrowbody jets. Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, faces challenges as its suppliers grapple with a backlog of subcomponent orders.
This week, Go Airlines India filed for insolvency protection, attributing the failure of Pratt & Whitney engines as the reason for grounding nearly half its fleet of Airbus aircraft. This comes at a time when the demand for travel is skyrocketing. The grounding of aircraft in Zurich further underscores the difficulties airlines face in maintaining operations amidst supply chain disruptions and technical issues with newer aircraft models.
