Pratt & Whitney has reached a support agreement with Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air as it continues to clean up the issues created by faults in its geared turbofan engines. But at the same time, another carrier, airBaltic, says it will have to cancel 5% of its 2025 schedule because of engine maintenance delays.
Budapest-based Wizz Air said the East Hartford jet engine maker will provide commercial support, including operational assistance and a compensation package for direct costs related to grounded aircraft, through the end of 2026.
The terms of the deal were not released.
Wizz Air, which flies an all-Airbus fleet, says it expects 40 of its aircraft – just under 20% of its fleet – to be out of service for that period.
In 2023, Pratt & Whitney announced that more than 1,000 of its engines needed to be removed and re-inspected after the discovery of microscopic cracks due to a defect in a powder metal coating.
The condition affected engines built for the Airbus A320neo between 2015 and 2021. Working with airlines to inspect engines and correct the faults has cost Pratt several billion dollars so far.
Meanwhile, airBaltic says it will cancel 19 of its routes altogether this summer, and cut frequency on 21 others because of longer-than-expected waits for engine maintenance to be carried out by Pratt & Whitney.
The airline says overall 4,670 flights will be affected, impacting an estimated 67,160 passengers.
