Spirit Airlines is expected to pay more as engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney (P&W) receives approximately $150 million in compensation for a grounded airbus jet, with carriers hoping for further payments as the withdrawal of the geared Turbofan (GTF) engine continues “at least” until 2026.
The Miramar-based spirit, Florida, says by the end of 2024, it is “discussing an arrangement with (P&W) about any aircraft that are not available for operational services.”
“We look forward to continuing to receive compensation from (P&W). GTF It's called the engine.
Details of Spirit's compensation agreement with P&W Affiliate International Aero Engine, which provides Spirit with monthly credits from October to December 31, 2023, was disclosed in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of 10K.
This amount is based on the number of days Spirit's Airbus A320neo-family jets are not used for engine inspection and repairs, and falls under the low end of Spirit's $15-200 million compensation package package expected to receive from P&W in March 2024.
Hundreds of A320neo, A321neo, A220 Jets and Embraer E190-E2-Family Aircraft have been grounded on a rolling base as potential defects in the powder metal used to manufacture several engine parts since P&W was disclosed in July 2023.
Last month, about a third of the global fleet of GTF-powered jets was tagged as “in storage” by data analytics company Cirium. That is, it has been laid for more than 30 days. Most are probably based on engine repairs.
The inspection was widely disruptive due to months of conversion times from the engine shop. US carrier JetBlue Airways recently reported that individual engines spend an average of about a year of wings before returning to service.
Grounding has a hit spirit that works to emerge from the reorganization of Chapter 11 later this month – especially difficult. In its 10K filing, the carrier said it “cut off, stopped or discontinued services in many cities” as a result of issues with GTF engines, including services to Denver.
Cirium data shows that 30 spirits A320neo and A321neos are currently in storage.
