Delta Air Lines expects the impact of Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G engine recall to be “modest to minimal” on the airline’s Airbus narrowbody operations.
The airline is working with “close partner” Pratt to assess how additional inspections will affect the carrier’s 42 A321neos powered by the geared turbofans (GTF), Atlanta-based Delta’s chief executive Ed Bastian said during a 12 October earnings call.
“We took deliveries later, so the impact will be modest to minimal,” Bastian says. If there is any impact, it “will be in latter half of 2024, based on analysis we have gotten so far”.
According to Cirium data, Delta’s first A321 with affected engines was delivered in April 2022.
“[Disruptions] depend on the allocation of capacity and availability of material to do the work. We will be working with [P&W] through next year on that,” Bastian says.
It remains unclear if the problem also affects PW1500G-series engines, which power A220s. Delta has 63 of those jets.
“We are still waiting on the full analysis on the A220 fleet, and will assess that impact appropriately,” Bastian adds.
In July, P&W parent RTX disclosed that 1,200 PW1100Gs needed to be returned for inspections and partial disassembly, citing possibly defective high-pressure turbine disks that require removal and inspection ahead of regular maintenance schedules.
On 11 September, RTX detailed the scope of the issue, saying airlines will need to remove hundreds of the engines from the wings of A320neo-family jets by the end of 2024. Each engine will likely be in the shop for 250-300 days – a lengthy period because P&W intends to replace affected parts, RTX said.
