Pratt PW1100 engines: Air New Zealand suspends flights to Seoul and Hobart

Because of the changes made to Maintenance schedule for Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines, and to avoid any impact this may have on its occupants and operations, Air New Zealand Its services will be suspended flood In South Korea and Hobart In Tasmania, Australia next year.

“We have taken the difficult decision to suspend two of our international routes.”Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran warned on 7 November. The season returns to the problems he faced Preparing Pratt & Whitney engines A321neo. As a reminder, in July 2023, Pratt & Whitney disclosed a condition affecting its jet engine fleet maintenance plan. Turbofan (GTF)with up to 700 engine All over the world will be affected over the next three years, and the impact on global aviation will be felt most strongly next year.

Air New Zealand counts 17 A320/321neo aircraft In its fleet of 108 aircraft, it serves Australia, the Pacific Islands and inland New Zealand. Although this maintenance issue did not pose a safety concern, it prompted Air New Zealand to review its flight schedule after making adjustments to its engine maintenance plan. “We were able to rearrange most of our schedule by merging some flights and moving planes to different routes.”“, explains Greg Foran in Business Traveler. “Flights connecting Auckland and Hobart will be suspended from 5 April 2024, and the Auckland-Seoul service will be suspended from 1 April 2024. The temporary suspension of flights to Seoul is intended to allow more flexibility when engines are running.” Trent1000 Our 787 fleet will undergo regular maintenance due to potential issues with the availability of spare engines Rolls-Royce To cover the maintenance period. Although both routes are performing well, we need to ensure we can provide a reliable service on the rest of our network and attract customers to our most popular routes where they need to be. Customers will still be able to book to Hobart and Seoul with Air New Zealand, but these flights will not be direct and will be partly operated by our partner airlines. »

He added that the effects of the change in the service schedule Pratt & Whitney Important and can have impact On services for up to Two years, with the airline having to ground up to four planes at a time. Air New Zealand says it is also managing other supply chain issues facing airlines around the world as they seek to build additional coverage for their fleet. “Leasing additional aircraft is an option we are closely examining. The last leased Boeing 777-367ER is about to enter service and we are considering other leasing options.complements the New Zealand company.

Remember that the American group RTXthe parent company of the engine manufacturer Pratt & WhitneyThe company expected a loss of $3 billion in the third quarter due to problems caused by contaminants in the PW1100G engines that supply the Airbus A320neo family.