69 Pratt engines replaced in 18 months: IndiGo

IndiGo, the world’s biggest buyer of the Airbus SE A320neo, was forced to replace faulty Pratt & Whitney engines that power the jetliners in 69 cases over the last 18 months.

India’s largest airline, run by InterGlobe Aviation, said there have been three incidents when engines shutdown during flight, and three other cases when a flight was scrubbed after engine issues were identified. The problems were dealt with in a “timely and safe manner” based on instructions from the manufacturer, IndiGo spokesman Ajay Jasra said via text message.

“With safety as our top priority, IndiGo has been making required engine replacements,” Jasra said. “Pratt & Whitney has worked closely with us to provide us adequate number of spare engines.”

IndiGo said on Saturday that it had withdrawn three affected planes from service and cancelled some flights after the European Aviation Safety Agency warned of a new issue with the Pratt engines that may be connected to several in-flight shut downs. Airbus has halted all deliveries of the Pratt-powered A320neo till further notice, the airline said. The disclosures mark a blow to efforts by Pratt, a unit of United Technologies, to restore confidence in its

most important product following a series of glitches on the engine.

A Pratt spokeswoman in Asia didn’t have an immediate comment, while an Airbus spokesman in India wasn’t available.

India has stepped up scrutiny of Pratt’s new engines after denying a request by the US company to allow some failed engines to continue to be used for short intervals.