GoAir suspends some flights on delay in aircraft, engine deliveries; airline apologises to flyers for inconvenience

Mumbai: GoAir on Thursday said it is temporarily suspending some flights due to Airbus and Pratt & Whitney deferring delivery of planes and engines, respectively.

.@goairlinesindia: Temporarily suspending some flights due to operational issues pic.twitter.com/7hUNf52QBB

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 23, 2020

Some scheduled flights and those for which ticket sales are open would be affected, the carrier said. However, specific details about the number of flights that would be impacted were not disclosed. [caption id=“attachment_3093042” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] In November and December, the airline had cancelled dozens of flights due to delay in aircraft deliveries and non-availability of engines. A320 neos in its fleet have also been facing engine problems. In the last four weeks, the carrier said, it has gone through unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting its current operation of fleet. “Now, we have been informed by our business partners Airbus and Pratt & Whitney of their inability to deliver previously promised aircraft and engines through 9 March 2020, that are required to support our current growth,” GoAir said in a statement, “As a result, we have been forced to temporarily suspend certain flights that are part of our network, schedule and open for sale,” it said. Currently, the airline operates more than 325 daily flights and has around 60 planes in its fleet. GoAir said it remains on track to receive 12-15 aircraft each year through the end of 2025. On the back of a firm order for 144 A320neo aircraft, the business plan articulates a continued double-digit growth through 2025, it added. Further, the airline said the suspension of flights has been undertaken as far ahead of time as possible in order to minimise inconvenience to customers. “Despite our best efforts, we realise that our flight suspensions may inconvenience our customers, which we regret and profusely apologise. We expect – with the support of Airbus and Pratt & Whitney – to reinstate these flights and operate at the earliest opportunity,” it added. The airline flies to 36 destinations, including nine overseas cities. “We would like to assure our customers and partners that our currently published schedule incorporates a conservative view of aircraft and engine deliveries as provided by Airbus and Pratt & Whitney to minimise, or eliminate, the need for flight cancellations in the future.