Choosing the Wrong Launch Customer-A Costly Mistake

News Indian carrier IndiGo is according to news reports switching from the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan for its A320neo fleet and moving to the CFM Leap1A, with the initial deal for 280 aircraft. This deal will likely be announced at the Paris Air Show next month. Indigo has had difficulties with its neo fleet and the GTF engines since their introduction three years ago, and is currently undergoing a safety audit with “show cause” notices from the DGCA regulator as a result of multiple incidents. Indigo has a total of 430 Airbus A320neo in service or on order, making it the largest customer for this aircraft type. Analysis Pratt & Whitney continues to have difficulty with the GTF engines at Indigo after three years in service. The issues with the GTF appear to be more prevalent in India than in other countries in which the GTF operates, which begs the question of whether these are flaws with the engine or with maintenance procedures and processes within the airline. The answer may be that it is a combination of both of these factors as well as the more difficult environmental conditions in India that has resulted in continuing difficulties. As one of the early customers for the GTF, IndiGo should have anticipated a less than perfect introduction into service, as that is why there are launch customer discounts. Virtually no new engine or aircraft is perfect at EIS, and minor glitches are to be expected. Typically, those types of problems can be quickly cured, but problems at IndiGo persist after three years. We don’t hear about similar problems at other airlines worldwide at this point, as the engine appears to have reached a level of mature dispatch reliability at other carriers. Insight Launching a new aircraft engine is a difficult task. Bringing a new engine into a difficult operating environment with a third world carrier adds to launch risk. While the size of the IndiGo order was attractive, in retrospect this was probably not a good choice for an early customer as the new engine was being introduced. The GTF is a high technology engine, with innovative elements that differ from traditional models. Initial glitches can be expected in new models, and have occurred. Pratt and Whitney has made several adjustments to engine problems, including knife-edge seals and other issues, that have been well documented. Pratt & Whitney has been aggressive in addressing issues, and slowed production while it worked through issues during the first two years of production. The continuing problems at IndiGo haven’t appeared to the same degree with other operators. Clearly, with IndiGo planning a change, the relationship between the airline and Pratt & Whitney is strained. The Indian press, which documents every AOG situation, whether GTF related or not, has not been helpful in this regard. There are times when the best action may be to give a difficult customer to your competitor, and this may be one of them.

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