Go Air Grounds Part of A320neo Fleet as Pratt & Whittney Lack Engine Replacements

Go Air’s woes continue as it announces a temporary suspension of "certain flights". Go Air on Thursday blamed Airbus and Pratt & Whitney’s (PW) ‘inability’ to deliver aircraft and engine replacements on time for forcing it to ground aircraft which were already in service. Go Air placed an order for 144 A320neo planes in 2011 with delivery began in June 2016. Go Air currently has 42 aircraft in its fleet. For the last two months (November & December) Go Air has been cancelling several flights.

“In the last four weeks, we have gone through unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting our current operation. And now, we have been informed by our business partners Airbus and PW of their inability to deliver previously promised aircraft and engines through March 9, 2020, that are required to support our current growth. As a result, we have been forced to temporarily suspend certain flights that are part of our network, schedule and open for sale,” Go Air said in a statement.

The Mumbai-based carrier currently operates 325 daily flights with a fleet of over 55 aircraft, out of which 41 are A320neos and the rest, CEOs. Currently at least 8 A320neos are said to be grounded as they await engine replacements. Further adding to the woes, Go Air has been phasing out the A320ceo fleet (as they had replaced them with the new A320neo) which has now added a lot of pressure to the airline. Go Air has said that it remains on track to receive 12-15 aircraft each year through the end of 2025.

As reported earlier, Go Air has been facing a crew shortage and has allegedly violated the Flight Duty Time Limits. Even the Indian Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had recently sent a notice to 150 pilots and the Head of Operations at Go Air with notices for violating duty time norms for the crew.

“We have undertaken these suspensions as far ahead of time as possible in order to minimise the inconvenience to customer …. Despite our best efforts, we realise that our flight suspensions may inconvenience our customers, which we regret and profusely apologise. We expect with the support of Airbus and Pratt & Whitney to reinstate these flights and operate at the earliest opportunity,” the airline added.

Go Air which has ambitious plans to expand, is currently hampered by many issues such as a crew shortage, late delivery and a lack of availability of replacement engines from the manufacturer.