Summary
- Cebu Pacific will ground up to 20 of its aircraft due to issues with Pratt & Whitney’s engines, with 10 jets to be grounded by January 2024.
- It is estimated that hundreds of PW1100G-powered jets will be grounded in the next few years due to engine manufacturing issues.
- The issue has led Cebu to scale back its seat growth projection for 2024, but its fleet expansion plans are still in motion with the arrival of new planes.
Philippines-based carrier Cebu Pacific has revealed up to 20 of its aircraft could be grounded due to issues with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G engines. The airline has confirmed the number of grounded A320neos and A321neos will reach ten in January 2024.
Cebu Pacific to ground ten jets by January
As first reported by FlightGlobal, Cebu Pacific plans to take six more of its PW1100G-powered aircraft out of service in January, having already pulled four for inspection and possible maintenance. It has not specified how many more will be grounded in the coming months, but it could reach around 20 in a realistic scenario.
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This is not the first time the low-cost carrier has grounded its A320neo family fleet, having pulled several aircraft for engine maintenance earlier this year. Engine manufacturing issues involving powdered metal defects will lead to hundreds of PW1100G-powered jets being grounded within the next few years.
Several carriers worldwide have announced similar plans to inspect affected jets, most recently IndiGo – which will ground over thirty jets in early 2024 – and All Nippon Airways (ANA), Spirit Airlines and Turkish Airlines. This sudden uptick in demand raises obvious challenges for MRO facilities around the world, and spare part scarcity too.
Pratt & Whitney estimates that 600 and 700 engines must be removed for inspection between 2023 and 2026, grounding a sizable chunk of the world’s GTF-powered A320neo and A321neo fleet. Parent company RTX has already written off the cost at over $3 billion, which could see upwards of 1,200 engines pulled out of service in total.
Growth projections scaled back
The aircraft groundings have led Cebu to lower its seat growth projection to between 5% and 8% over 2024 – after releasing the airline’s third-quarter results, Cebu CEO Mike Szucs said the carrier would have expected “double-digit growth” without this issue, which could see up to 20 of its planes sidelined for inspection and possible maintenance.
Photo: Cebu Pacific
Szucs said the airline has “operational resilience” plans in place to offset the impact of the PW1100G issue, including leases for new and used planes and engines, that will allow its ambitious growth to continue.
Fleet expansion
The airline will be thankful its fleet expansion plans are in motion – data from Airbus states the airline has seven A320neo, 22 A321neo and 11 A330-900s on its orderbook, while it is eyeing up a massive $12 billion order for up to 150 planes in the near future.
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The airline has welcomed 13 new aircraft from the A320neo family so far in 2023, and expects another half dozen to arrive by the end of December. New jets will continue streaming in 2024 to partially offset Cebu’s early-year groundings, with another 13 expected to arrive next year.
Cebu Pacific’s 17 A320neo and 12 A321neo aircraft are joined by 20 A320-200 and seven A321-200s, along with its widebody fleet of six A330s.
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Source: FlightGlobal