By contrast, only 53 A320neo-family aircraft fitted with the CFM Leap engine were in storage at that date, or just four per cent of the fleet with that engine.
For passengers, this has meant airlines around the world reducing capacity on routes or temporarily suspending some routes altogether until they can get their planes back in the air.
The airlines most affected
India’s Go Airlines was the worst affected by the issue, filing for bankruptcy after having to ground half its fleet. Credit: Bloomberg
That’s created a major headache for airlines with large A320 fleets powered by GTF engines. Among the most severely affected is the Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo. In February 2024, the airline announced that 75 GTF-powered Airbus A320neos were grounded, more than half of its fleet of that type. IndiGo is a Qantas code-share partner, operating an extensive network for passengers on Qantas aircraft which terminate at Bengaluru.
Late in 2023, Lufthansa had up to 20 GTF-powered A320neo aircraft out of service to deal with engine issues, but the airline managed to avoid flight cuts or disruptions by prolonging the life of its older Airbus A320-200s. European low-cost carrier Wizz is another casualty, with about 10 per cent of its 186-strong fleet grounded. In response, the airline extended leases for nine A320-200s and four A321-200s, expected to last between two and four years.
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Turkish Airlines expects 40–45 of its A320neos to be out of action until 2025 due to the engine problem. The Turkish national carrier has 58 A320neo aircraft with GTF engines, part of an original order of 276. Worst affected of all was Indian low-cost carrier Go First, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2023, blaming the groundings of half its fleet on the GTF engine issue.
Although no Australian airlines have been affected, national carrier Air New Zealand has 17 A320/321neo aircraft, and up to four at a time have been grounded. The airline has also suspended two international routes, Auckland to Hobart and Auckland to Seoul.
That’s led to some unexpected experiences. A Traveller writer flying from Perth to Auckland in April 2024 with Air New Zealand was surprised to find herself sitting on a Wamos aircraft being served by a crew with strange accents. From December 2023 to May this year, the carrier had been leasing an A330-200 from Spanish charter operator Wamos Air to fill a gap in its Auckland–Perth International city pair caused by the engine issues.