Cash-strapped On Tuesday, Indian airline Go First declared bankruptcy, blaming “faulty” Pratt & Whitney engines for grounding half its fleet.
The first major airline failure in India since Jet Airways filed for bankruptcy in 2019 highlights the severe rivalry in a sector dominated by IndiGo and the recent merger of Air India and Vistara under the Tata group.
On April 28, Go First’s bankruptcy filing with the National Company Law Tribunal listed 65.21 billion rupees in financial creditors’ debt.
As of April 30, the company had defaulted on operational creditors, including 12.02 billion rupees to vendors and 26.60 billion to aircraft lessors.
Go First claimed it filed because Pratt & Whitney, the airline’s only engine supplier for its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet, refused to comply with an arbitration ruling to provide spare leased engines to allow full operations.
The airline stated that grounded aircraft “due to Pratt & Whitney’s faulty engines” increased from 7% in December 2019 to 50% in December 2022, costing it 108 billion rupees ($1.32 billion) in missed revenues associated expenditures.
Pratt & Whitney told Reuters it was “committed to the success of our airline customers, and we continue to prioritize delivery schedules for all customers.”
P&W is following the March 2023 Go First arbitration judgment. “As this is a matter of litigation, we will not comment,” it stated.
Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N), which owns Pratt & Whitney, revealed GTF engine reliability difficulties in February.
In Indian media, Pratt & Whitney said industry-wide supply chain difficulties influenced it and expects them to improve later this year, allowing the increasing output of new and overhauled engines.
Due to its larger fleet and deeper pockets, IndiGo has weathered the storm better, analysts say.
Go First, owned by the Wadia Group and formerly GoAir, canceled flights for May 3–5 owing to “operational reasons” on their website.
“The government of India has been assisting the airline in every possible manner,” stated Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. “Stakeholders also discussed the issue.”
The fall may help competitor carriers satisfy post-pandemic air travel demand.
“The sudden disruption in operations is likely to benefit other players and increase airfares due to supply constraint,” stated Prabhudas Lilladher research analyst Jinesh Joshi.
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