The GTF, or geared turbofan, engine from Pratt & Whitney is very fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, but has been plagued with reliability issues that have resulted in significant grounding of GTF equipped aircraft. While the A320neo family has the highest number of GTF engines and airlines have been dealing with those issues, the same issues have also emerged for lower thrust versions used on the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 jets.Â
Significant Problems Also Apply to Lower Thrust Versions
The Airbus A320neo family has experienced significant MRO delays over the last half decade, with required maintenance and parts replacements requiring a completed engine tear-down. That translates to waits for MRO facilities, which cannot accommodate the demand, and turn-arounds requiring nearly 300 days on average to complete a repair. Pratt & Whitney won’t likely see the last A320neo aircraft with the required updates until 2027.
