AIR NEW ZEALAND (ANZ) expects to be back to full capacity by 12 March, following the grounding of ten Boeing 737-200s with Nordam hushkits (Flight International, 22-27 February).
The aircraft were grounded following a series of turbine failures on the Nordam-hushkitted Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15A in a six-month period. Three aircraft in the 737 domestic fleet were unaffected by grounding.
Extra capacity is now being provided on part-time wet lease by a Polynesian Airlines 737-300; an Air Nauru 737-400; and an Air Pacific 737-500, all of which are flown throughout New Zealand regularly. A Britannia Boeing 757 has also been wet-leased and Boeing 767 capacity from the carrier's own international fleet has been added.
Five of the 737-200s are now in service, having had previously overhauled blades (believed to have been the cause of the problem) replaced with new ones.
Aircraft are expected to be returned to line at the rate of one every four to five days, with the entire fleet now expected to be reinstated, and normal schedules restored, by about mid-April.
ANZ believes that the reason Lufthansa has not experienced the same problem on its Nordam-hushkitted 737-200 fleet is that the German carrier uses a lower-thrust engine variant.
Source: Flight International
