With more and more Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines getting grounded by domestic carriers, the company is considering setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India.
Sources said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the company to set up an MRO in the country in the light of growing engine issues and no resolution in sight.
“We are open to exploring the possibility of having a PW GTF engine MRO in India,” Pratt & Whitney India president and country head, Ashmita Sethi told Fe. “The possibility of having such a MRO will be based on various critical factors such as the business case, competitive labour and the import of parts, amongst others. We are looking at all these aspects,” she added.
While new generation PW engines for the Airbus A320neo planes used by IndiGo and the erstwhile Go First, have been having a series of issues for the last 5-6 years, what prompted DGCA to ask the company to set up an MRO in the country is the recent announcement by IndiGo that the number of planes to be grounded will be much higher.
On November 7, IndiGo said that it expects 35 of its aircraft to be grounded in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal based on its preliminary assessment and information received from P&W on the engine powder metal issue. This will be in addition to over 40 aircraft already grounded due to P&W engine issues.
Earlier, GoFirst blamed P&W for the grounding of the airline.
The parent company of P&W, RTX Corp, had announced in September that it would be increasing the scope of recent engine inspections.
The problem, which the company first disclosed in July, stems from defects with powder metal used to make some of the popular P&W geared turbofan engines, a flaw that can cause cracks.
RTX said that about 600 to 700 engines beyond the company’s early forecast will have to be removed for shop visits through 2026.
According to industry estimates, an investment of around $150-200 million is required to set up a greenfield MRO facility.
At present, P&W has an MRO facility in Singapore which is closest to India.