Several Air New Zealand flights have been affected after the airline grounded two of its narrowbody Airbus aircraft due to engine shortage. The carrier says that the travel plans of thousands of passengers will be affected as it looks to reschedule flights and also for possible refunds for some travelers.
Engine shortage
The global shortage for Pratt & Whitney engines for the Airbus A320neo planes has now hit Air New Zealand, which has had to ground two of its jets. The impacted aircraft are used for short-haul flights to Australia, the Pacific region, as well as for domestic operations.
Stuff Travel reports that the airline is facing an engine shortage despite having 32 engines, four spares, and three lease options. It quotes Group General Manager of Engineering and Maintenance at Air NZ, Brett Daley, as saying,
“Essentially, we don’t have enough engines. The scheduled removal of engines and usual non-scheduled removals are all coming together at the same time for every operator around the world.
“What we thought would be a problem with us until June, July is probably going to be with us to the end of the year.”
Photo: Jordan Tan | Shutterstock
The two grounded planes also include a brand new A321neo, which the airline has configured for domestic operations. But Air New Zealand has taken the engines off these grounded aircraft and put them on planes configured for international travel, giving them more deployment options.
Passengers affected
While the situation has affected thousands of passengers, the airline is confident that most of it is manageable. General Manager of short haul at the airline, Jeremy O’Brien, told Stuff Travel that of the 147,000 people impacted, 143,000 will have their departures rescheduled that same day, and most of them are within 60 to 90 minutes.
But around 4,000 passengers will have their departures delayed by a day, and around 300 will see their flights delayed by two days. Air New Zealand is also considering offering a refund to travelers whose flights are delayed by a significant margin resulting in them missing time-sensitive events like weddings.
Photo: Photos Brianscantelbury | Shutterstock
According to O’Brien, the schedule changes allow planners to “juggle aircraft type and the routes that they’re flying in order to backfill as much of the capacity that was impacted by having these two aircraft on the ground.”
Global problem
Pratt & Whitney engine shortage for Airbus airplanes is not unique to Air New Zealand. In fact, with two airframes grounded, the airline is still in a better position than many other carriers worldwide.
India’s Go First has seen its finances take a hit, with more than half of its fleet grounded due to the same issue, and airBaltic, too, is one of the many carriers facing engine shortages. The airline’s CEO, Martin Gauss, told Simple Flying that he sees the issue extending into 2025.
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Source: Stuff Travel
Most of the missing bags found their way back from New York to Auckland via Los Angeles. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Air New Zealand
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- NZ/ANZ
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport, Wellington Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1965
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- CEO:
- Greg Foran
- Country:
- New Zealand
