The operational impact of Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) PW1000G engine recall appears to have remained relatively steady in recent months, with one-third of all jets with the powerplants still parked, roughly the same as in April.
That is according to fleet-data provider Cirium, which tracks the number of aircraft that have been removed from service, providing a rough indication about the extent to which P&W’s recall has forced the grounding of passenger jets.
The Connecticut-based engine maker began recalling the geared turbofans (GTFs) last year due powder-metal manufacturing errors that left some engines with defective metallic components.
That problem and other supply chain snags have left the world’s airlines with significantly fewer operational jets than planned. It has also reportedly eased what had been an acute pilot shortage.
On 23 August, 647 aircraft with PW1000G-series turbofans were in storage, equating to 30% of the entire GTF-powered fleet, according to Cirium. The balance of the fleet – another 1,475 jets – were in service.
Affected aircraft include PW1100G-powered Airbus A320neo-family jets, PW1500G-powered A220s and PW1900G-powered Embraer E-Jet E2s.
The latest figures show that the number of grounded jets has remained relatively even compared to April, when 637 GTF-powered aircraft – 32% of the fleet at the time – were parked.
Cirium tags many of the stored aircraft as “Parked – technical issue”, but does not provide more detail, meaning at least some are likely grounded for reasons other than the powder-metal recalls.
RTX declines to specify exactly how many aircraft are sidelined due to the recalls and does not respond to a request for comment.
By comparison, however, only 53 Boeing 737s and A320neos powered by CFM International Leap turbofans (the GTF’s competitor) are currently stored – about 1.5% of that fleet, Cirium data shows.
A320neos and A321neos account for the vast majority of the grounded GTF-powered jets, with 548 of those listed as stored, or 34% of that fleet. Another 77 A220s (22% of the A220 fleet) are stored, as are 22 E-Jet E2s (16% of that fleet), Cirium shows.
Airlines from all corners of the globe have GTF-powered aircraft sidelined. On 23 August, for instance, US carrier Delta Air Lines had 11 A220s parked, while discounter Spirit Airlines had 20 A320neo-family jets stored. All Nippon Airways had 14 Airbus sidelined, Turkish Airlines had 18 parked, Spanish airline Vueling had 11 out of service and Swiss had 12 in storage, Cirium shows.
Connecticut-based P&W’s parent RTX disclosed the recalls last year, saying PW1000Gs needed early inspections and replacement of potentially defective parts. At the time, RTX said the issue would require an additional 600-700 engines undergo maintenance between 2023 and 2026, and that each engine would be out of service for up to 300 days.
In July, RTX chief executive Chris Calio said P&W’s recovery plan is on track.
“[Aircraft on the ground]… have levelled out over the past few months and remain in line with our expectations,” he said. “As of the end of Q2, we have inspected over 6,000 powder-metal parts that are in the field across all programmes, and the associated fallout rate remains below the 1% we had assumed.”
Pratt’s recall and other factors – including less-than-expected demand for air travel and delays by Airbus and Boeing in delivering new aircraft – prompting several US airlines earlier this year to revamp business plans.
Carriers like JetBlue Airways and Spirit have trimmed growth plans and tweaked routes in response. Spirit also said it plans to furlough pilots, while American Airlines and all 737-operator Southwest Airlines have slowed new-pilot hiring.
Such conditions have eased the USA’s pilot shortage.
“We still have a dramatic pilot shortage, but it is being temporarily paused and somewhat concealed by an even-more-temporary large-aircraft shortage,” Regional Airline Association chief executive Faye Malarkey-Black said recently. “We still don’t have all the pilots we need to fly all the routes and connect all the communities we want to.”
Pilot “attrition has fallen more precipitously than expected at Mesa in the past few months, in part due to the slowdown or cessation of hiring across most airlines”, regional carrier Mesa’s CEO Jonathan Ornstein says.
Additional reporting by Howard Hardee.
