Breaking: Wizz Air forced to suspend nearly quarter of its fleet
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By the end of March, the Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will have to ground around 45 of its A320neo family aircraft due to the overhaul of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. Wizz plans to compensate for the lost capacity by extending the leases of older aircraft and renting new ones.
As AIRportal.hu reports, Wizz Air is forecasting that it will have to ground a total of 45 of its aircraft by the end of its financial year (until 31 March 2024), according to the latest service order issued by Pratt & Whitney on 3 November.
The final number of aircraft to be inspected may still change. However, it is expected that around a quarter of the 190-strong fleet will be grounded.
The engines involved in the second phase will be removed from the aircraft from mid-January 2024 and sent for inspection and repair to the manufacturer’s designated workshop.
This is heading into the Law Courts.
The “other side” have much larger bank account than Wizz Air or the Hungarian Government.
It depends on what their contract says as to whether or not they are entitled to compensation. Even if there is a warranty, it probably excludes consequential damages, so at best the airline can expect to hav the engines repaired. Pratt and Whitney is not an insurance company. They will only warrant that the product will perform for its intended purpose for X number of years.