JetBlue is still experiencing many problems with the Pratt & Whitney engines of the A321neo. The airline has now found a temporary solution.
The airline recently announced that the lifespan of several Airbus A320s will be extended. In an internal communication to its employees, JetBlue stated that it will put twelve aircraft, which were phased out last year, back into service. One of the machines is the very first aircraft put into service by the company. The N503JB was delivered new to JetBlue on December 1, 1999. After 23 years of flying, the Airbus was taken out of service in August.
JetBlue, like many other airlines, has been plagued by ongoing problems with its Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. The complications mainly affect the airline’s A321neo fleet. The company noted in a statement that the increasing number of aircraft grounded due to engine inspections is having a major negative impact on its business. “We are a growth company… But with the planes parked for engine inspections we are not growing – we are flying less!” said JetBlue.
Repair
RTX Corporation, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, predicts that about 350 planes will be grounded annually through 2026 due to the complications. In the first half of 2024, this would involve no fewer than 650 aircraft. Initially it was thought that repairing an engine would take sixty days. That expectation has now been adjusted to three hundred days. Airlines such as Lufthansa and IndiGo are also forced to retain A320ceos to fill capacity gaps.
