[ad_1]
By Aditi Shah
NEWDELHI (Reuters) – IndiGo, India's largest airline, is about to make a decision on engines that could mark a dramatic shift from Pratt & Whitney to its French-American rival CFM but a final decision is expected by the end of June, according to three informed people.
IndiGo has an order book of 430 A320neo Airbus aircraft, with the first 150 aircraft to be equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines from United Technologies Corp.
The Indian airline is currently launching a bidding process in which Pratt and CFM, jointly owned by General Electric and Safran, are competing to supply engines to the remaining 280 aircraft, two people said.
"The competition continues … nothing has been finalized yet. We expect the Paris air show to do it, but these things tend to go to the end, "said one of the interviewees, adding that Pratt would not let go easily. CFM pushes very hard to woo the airline.
The air show will take place from June 17 to 23.
IndiGo declined to comment. Pratt did not respond to an e-mail requesting a comment.
A CFM The spokeswoman said she would not comment on potential engine orders, but added that India is an important market.
Although the Pratt engines installed on the A320neo are more fuel-efficient than its competitors, they regularly encounter problems since their commissioning in 2016, forcing IndiGo to land several times on the ground.
While Pratt has found a solution to some of the problems and others are expected to be resolved later this year, the problems are causing "a brand and reputation problem for the airline," said another source.
"With IndiGo now aiming to fly to Europe and expand its operations abroad, this becomes a more important factor, and everything is not focused on fuel," said the source.
(Additional report by Euan Rocha in Mumbai, edited by Martin Howell and Stephen Powell)
Source link
