ITA Airways is preparing a lawsuit against engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney afterthe airline was forced to ground twice as many aircraft as expected this year.“The situation has become worse in the past six months,” ITA CEO Jo rg Eberhart tellsAviation Week.
The airline had originally planned to have an average of aroundeight Airbus A320neo-family aircraft and A220s on the ground, owing to the gearedturbofan (GTF) PW1100G and PW1500G durability issues. However, ITA is now havingto ground 18 aircraft at any given time this year, with big effects on its network andability to feed its Rome-Fiumicino long-haul hub.Eberhart expects damages to rise to €150 million ($174 million) in the next five years.
The sum comprises lease rates for grounded aircraft, repair work, excess pilot trainingfor the A220 fleet and a lack of long-haul feed that impairs the profitability of ITA’s longhaul flying.Borescope inspection intervals have been shortened, according to Eberhart. And onceengines are sent to the shop, they return after 15 months, rather than the 12 envisagedearlier.While negotiations continue, Eberhart is not optimistic. He made clear to Pratt &Whitney that ITA as a state-owned company has very little flexibility to forego legal proceedings as public money is involved. “We hardly have any choice—we have topursue this avenue,” he says.Pratt & Whitney did not comment specifically on the ITA case. Commercial EnginesPresident Rick Deurloo said on the eve of the Dubai Airshow that engine-related A220 and Embraer E2 groundings will be “near zero” by the end of 2026.ITA is trying to mitigate the issue by extending leases of some of its aging A320s andfinding more wet-lease aircraft. Eberhart says it is all but impossible to get leased spareengines, and when ITA does, they are extremely expensive. “A spare engine is now$200,000 a month. In the old contracts, that is what we paid for the entire aircraft.”As for the A220, ITA says it is facing broader issues. “In hindsight, it would likely havebeen better to go with Embraer,” Eberhart says. “The A220 does not only have engineproblems, for which Pratt & Whitney is responsible.
There are other issues with theaircraft that create headaches for us. If you compare the condition of the aircraft withthat of the Embraer, it may be the more modern concept, but there are a lot moreteething issues than with the more mature Embraer.”Before running Lufthansa Group’s strategy and taking over as ITA CEO earlier this year,Eberhart had been at the head of Air Dolomiti, an Embraer 190/195 operator.“The Embraer has been very reliable, much more reliable than we at Lufthansa initiallythought,” Eberhart says.Lufthansa finally completed investment into a 41% stake in ITA at the beginning of theyear and has plans to take full control of the airline as early as mid-2026. ITA targetsentry into Star Alliance in 2026 and has applied to become part of the transatlantic jointventure between Lufthansa, United and Air Canada.
In the fleet, the new management team not only inherited the problems aroundthe A220 and A320neo engines, but also a mixed fleet of 22 A330-900s and A350-900sfor long haul, with the A330-900 being another new type in the Lufthansa Group thathas been trying to reduce complexity. Eberhart says that ITA would ideally converge onan A350-900 fleet over time, but recognizes that scarce availability of A350s will makethat a lengthy process.ITA’s long-haul network is focused on North American destinations and several points inLatin America where there are strong ethnic ties. The airline also serves New Delhi andTokyo.Long-haul capacity expansion is planned at an annual 4%, but the carrier has put onhold plans to introduce Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru, because of a lack of priceelasticity in the markets. Instead, it is likely to start more U.S. flying with United’s hubsin Washington, Houston and Newark if anti-trust immunity is achieved.
ITA had also launched a unique sub-fleet of three-class A321neos for medium-haulroutes, which set it apart from the European standard seating arrangement, whereairlines use the same seats in their business-class cabins as in economy, but leave themiddle seat empty. ITA currently operates seven A321neos in the configuration and hastwo more to be delivered. Results so far have been mixed, Eberhart says. Some routes such as Riyadh, have been successful, but others—like Jeddah and Accra—not so much.These have less demand for the premium cabin. Eberhart wants to trial the service foranother six months to one year before making a decision.One option is to ground the A321neos and use the engines for the A320neo fleet,strengthening shorter-haul flying. If the premium medium-haul product is continued, itwould have to be on a fleet of at least five aircraft, the ITA CEO says.
ITA Airways is preparing a lawsuit against engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney after ITA was forced to ground twice as many aircraft as expected this year.
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