Wizz Air ordered the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G Geared Turbofans (GTFS) and powered the remaining 177 Airbus A321neo aircraft.
After a signing ceremony with Rick Daleloux, P&W's commercial engine president, at the Paris Air Show on June 17, With CEO Josseph Barady explained why the career made the decision.
“It's like marriage. There are ups and downs,” he says of Wizz's relationship with the maker.
“Obviously, we are very unhappy with the supply chain issues and the grounding of aircraft, but at the same time, we are reasonable and we try to look into the current issues and evaluate what is suitable for our business.”
The assessment includes considerations such as “economic performance, sustainability performance, engine maintenance, contractual commitments made by manufacturers, and support packages to offer when something breaks down.”
“The right decision for Wizz was to stick with the GTF.”
Asked whether Wizz's GTF challenges were placed in a strong position to negotiate a new deal with P&W, Varadi described the situation as a “double-edged sword.”
“We are in a good position for the purposes of creating a transaction, but for the purposes of operation, we are not in a good position,” he says.
Expanding at that point, With Chief explains that as an early adopter of the GTF, the majority of the airline's fleet features its powerplants.
As a result, Varadi says, “it's disproportionately affected by other carriers.”
“(But) we are in the strong mail because of the size, scale and leverage that we give us,” he adds.
The GTF issue meant Wizz, which ended the Covid-19 crisis with a major expansion ambition in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, with associated costs also signifying a greater emphasis on financial performance.
Carrier expects to achieve some growth this fiscal year, but is still working on mid-30s aircraft numbering based on a total fleet of around 230 Airbus narrow bodies.
And Varadi estimates that GTF grounding still has at least two years of run.
Wizz previously chose the GTF to power the 276 Airbus A320Neo, A321Neo and A321XLR aircraft. The announcement in Paris adds to 453 aircraft equipped with GTF engines.
