Pratt & Whitney, the aircraft engine manufacturer which has been blamed by cash-strapped airline Go First for allegedly supplying ‘faulty’ engine, has now responded to the allegations.
“Pratt & Whitney is committed to the success of our airline customers, and we continue to prioritize delivery schedules for all customers. P&W is complying with the March 2023 arbitration ruling related to Go First. As this is now a matter of litigation, we will not comment further”, an official spokesperson for the company said.
“GoFirst has a lengthy history of missing its financial obligations to Pratt”, the spokesperson added.
On Tuesday, Go First filed for voluntary insolvency before the National Company Law Tribunal, blaming Pratt & Whitney for supplying faulty engines which forced the airline to ground half of its A320neo fleet.
In a statement, Go First had alleged that the engine supplier had refused to comply with an award by an emergency arbitrator appointed as per 2016 Arbitrator Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).
As per the order, Pratt and Whitney was asked to take all reasonable steps to release and dispatch without delay to Go First at least ten serviceable spare leased engines by April 27, 2023 and a further ten spare leased engines per month until December 2023.
Go First has accused Pratt & Whitney of refusing to complying with the emergency arbitrator’s order and not provided spare leased engines at all. The airline said the engine supplier has also not provided any certainty with respect to the timeframe for the provision of spare leased engines in the future. It has also failed to induct faulty engines for repair, Go First added.
“Had Pratt & Whitney complied with the emergency arbitrator’s award, all of GO FIRST’s aircraft would have been operational by August/September 2023, ensuring profitable operations in the fast-growing Indian aviation market. As a result of Pratt & Whitney’s failure to comply with the emergency arbitrator’s award, GO FIRST is being driven to take steps to enforce the award in the U.S. and other international jurisdictions”, Go First statement had said yesterday.
