Nearly 17% of Airbus A220 Fleet Grounded Over Engine Issues

Almost one-fifth of the global Airbus A220 fleet remains grounded due to ongoing issues with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engines, according to data from ch-aviation. As of early November, 76 out of 451 A220 aircraft are inactive, representing 16.85% of the fleet. RTX, parent company of Pratt & Whitney, confirmed that 7% of the A220 aircraft are grounded directly due to engine-related problems.

The engine issue, stemming from corrosion damage linked to a production flaw, has forced several airlines to withdraw part of their fleets for extended maintenance. While not a safety concern, the problem has become a major operational challenge for multiple carriers.

According to a report by Simple Flying, the smaller Airbus A220-100 variant, originally developed as the Bombardier CS100, currently counts 60 active aircraft and 11 inactive units worldwide. Among the inactive, seven are undergoing maintenance, five operated by Delta Air Lines, one by Bulgaria Air, and another by Croatia Airlines. Four more are in storage, split evenly between ITA Airways and SWISS. The Swiss carrier has decided to ground its entire A220-100 fleet to prioritize engine availability for its larger A220-300 aircraft. “This is not a safety issue, but it is a constant source of effort. The A220-100s will remain grounded. This will take around a year and a half,” said Dennis Weber, Chief Financial Officer, SWISS. This decision leaves SWISS without operational A220-100s for at least 18 months, underscoring the severity of the parts shortage and the extended repair cycle required for the Pratt & Whitney engines.

The larger A220-300 model has 313 active and 64 inactive aircraft, excluding six that have been permanently retired. Of the inactive jets, 23 are listed as undergoing maintenance or repair, while 41 are in storage.

Maintenance-affected airlines include Air Austral (one aircraft), Air Canada (three), Air France (six), airBaltic (three), Bulgaria Air (one), Delta Air Lines (two), ITA Airways (one), JetBlue (two), Korean Air (one), QantasLink (one), and SWISS (two). Many of these units are believed to be awaiting engine inspections or parts replacement.

Among the 41 stored aircraft, three are former Egyptair units without current operators,two of which are destined for Breeze Airways. Other inactive aircraft belong to Air Austral (one), Air France (seven), Air Manas (one), airBaltic (two), Cyprus Airways (two), Iraqi Airways (five), ITA Airways (six), JetBlue (two), Korean Air (one), and SWISS (two). Seven additional A220-300s have been delivered to lessors but have yet to be placed with an airline.

Airlines have had to adjust capacity and scheduling to mitigate the loss of available aircraft. The long repair timelines, spanning over a year in some cases, suggest that recovery will not be immediate.