Beleaguered airline Go First has received two engines from (Pratt & Whitney) P&W, a boost for the airline which is preparing to restart flight services after a gap of three-months. The airline, sources said, expects to receive five more engines in August.
Last week, Go First received the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s conditional approval to restart operations with 15 aircraft and 114 daily flights.
The two new engines will allow the airline to add another aircraft to its fleet, taking the total number of operational planes to 27, sources told Fe.
Currently, the airline has a total fleet strength of 54 aircraft. Of this, 28 aircraft are grounded due to engine issues.
Earlier this month, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) had directed P&W to send five engines every month to the air carrier starting August 1 until December 31.
Meanwhile, Go First plans to restart operations once the DGCA clears its final flight schedule.
Following observations made by the DGCA on the lack of trained pilots and issues with funding, refunds and spare parts, in its audit report, Go First scaled down its resumption plans by around 30% than what it had earlier planned.
Before the audit, it had proposed to resume services with 26 aircraft and around 160 daily flights.
The DGCA has not permitted this, since it found that the airline does not have adequate pilots and technical staff to execute the proposed operations.
Consequently, a revised plan was submitted by airline’s Resolution Professional (RP) Shailendra Ajmera, who also met senior DGCA officials last Wednesday.
The revised resumption plan of the airline takes into account the “new realities” of starting operations during the lean travel season, sources said.
“The previous plan was made with the assumption that operations will resume during the peak travel season,” sources said.
“However, the plan has been revised taking into account that the initial phase of operation will now start around August.”
Globally, the period between July to September is considered to be a lean travel season.
Notably, the plan’s initial phase entails commencement of military charter flight services between Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Leh and Delhi-Thoise, followed by scheduled revenue operations.
However, the move might require some time as Go First will need to first operate proving flights.
The airline would also need to get its pilots re-certified to operate flights to critical high altitude airports such as Thoise.