Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Engine woes plague global airlines
New turbines run hotter, wear quicker; repair times triple
This year was supposed to herald air travel’s big comeback, with China reopening, airlines ramping up flight schedules and airports going on a hiring spree to handle the surge.
But a potential bottleneck to that growth is looming in form of a shortage of aircraft engines and spare parts, particularly on workhorse Airbus and Boeing jets. The shortfall is being exacerbated as more carriers are flying with the latest- generation turbines that — while as much as 20% more fuel efficient — also have been prone to far more frequent maintenance cycles than their more robust predecessors.
As a result, airlines around the world have been forced to ground hundreds of airplanes just as they gear up for what stands to be a busy summer travel season.
In the United States, budget carrier Spirit Airlines warned it would scale back growth plans partly from a spate of malfunctioning engines. Air Baltic says 10 of its 39 Airbus A220s are currently out of service because of engine issues. And India’s IndiGo is seeking compensation for about 30 planes it grounded because of parts shortages, some of which are tied to engines.
Supply-chain constraints were rippling through the industry even before the covid-19 pandemic, and in its aftermath, engine- makers have struggled with a lack of skilled mechanics and component shortages.
The latest engines from Raytheon Technologies and a General Electric-Safran venture feature exotic metal alloys, coatings and composites needed for them to operate at furnace-like temperatures. Airlines say turbine components are wearing more quickly and being sent to the shop earlier than initially expected.
AirBaltic, Spirit and IndiGo have planes equipped with engines made by Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney division. Another Indian discount carrier, Go First, is seeking compensation from Pratt for 24 aircraft that it has been forced to ground, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“The engines are running hotter, and the materials used for that are not withstanding the pressure, so there are more engine-related problems than we used to face previously,” said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker.
Turnaround times for engine repairs have tripled as waits for certain parts drag on for more than a year in some instances. Supplies of engine components are further stretched as Airbus and Boeing clamor for higher output of new engines as they strive to pump out their best-selling single-aisle aircraft models in record numbers.
“Right now that’s hotter than hell,” Cliff Collier, a Texas aviation consultant, said of the engine sector. “There are parts shortages left and right and it’s impacting MROs badly,” he said referring to maintenance and repair organizations.
GE CEO Larry Culp and other executives laid out the company’s future as a standalone aerospace manufacturer at an event Thursday. Executives spoke about actions taken to improve the durability of the Leap turbine made by the venture, called CFM International, for Airbus’s A320neo aircraft family and Boeing’s 737 Max.
“Durability is our No. 1 priority,” Russell Stokes, CEO of commercial engines and services at GE Aerospace, said of the Leap at the investor conference. “We want that engine on wing making money for our customers, exactly where it belongs.”
The Leap engine’s timeon-wing is better than that of its predecessor, the CFM56, at the same point in its service life, about six years after its first commercial flight, according to Mohamed Ali, vice president for engineering at GE Aerospace, while acknowledging that the engine’s removal rate and maintenance needs are falling short of customer expectations.
The latest turbofan models by Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney division are flying an average of about 10,000 hours before they need to be removed for overhauls.
That’s only about half the so-called time-on-wing of its predecessor engine, despite multiple fixes and upgrades to boost longevity, Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said at a Barclays conference last month. Closing that gap will be a challenge over the next five years, he said.
Around 370 Airbus A320neos and A220s, along with 737 Boeing Max jets, are currently classified as stored, according to data from Cirium.
The aviation data and analytics company defines such aircraft as those idled for 30 days or more for a variety of reasons.
Airbus said it’s closely monitoring the performance of engines on its aircraft. Boeing had no immediate comment.