Canceled flights blamed on supplier?

MANILA, Philippines — Leading air carriers in the country are forced to cancel flights due to a lack of aircraft on the ground as a shortage in jet engines causes headaches to both local and international airlines.

Sources told The STAR that both Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific are experiencing delays in the delivery of jet engines from aviation supplier Pratt & Whitney.

Jet engines produced and distributed by Pratt & Whitney are used to run Airbus A320s and A321neos, which Cebu Pacific and PAL have 24 and eight, respectively.

PAL and Cebu Pacific are trying to minimize their carbon emissions in compliance with an international goal of becoming net zero by 2050.

As such, the airline resorted to using jet engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney as these equipment burn 20 percent less jet fuel.

Traditional jet engines can fly an aircraft for up to 3,000 hours before these are returned to the yard for overhaul.

The source said these Pratt & Whitney jet engines only last around 700 hours, making it necessary for airlines to return them to the supplier for repair more often.

“Normally, when engines are sent to the repair shop, they come back after 90 days, refreshed and like brand new. But since the aerospace industry is still grappling with supply chain problems brought by the pandemic, the line for engine repairs is long,” the source said.

“It is now taking airlines as long as nine months to get their Pratt & Whitney engines back from the shop,” the source added.

Across the globe, there are at least 160 airbus units grounded due to dysfunctional engines.

Six of the grounded airbuses belong to the Philippines: three each to PAL and Cebu Pacific.

The source said both PAL and Cebu Pacific are decreasing the number of flights they are scheduling due to a lack of aircraft. Cebu Pacific, in particular, expects the jet engine shortage to last longer, given the volume of carriers trying to get their equipment repaired.

“Cebu Pacific has three aircraft grounded due to Pratt & Whitney and five for a long term due to other incidents. Cebu Pacific will recover the five aircraft in the months ahead, but the impact of the Pratt & Whitney engine shortage is something that has to be planned for a longer period,” the source said.

Pratt & Whitney is putting up four engine shops around Asia to address the requirement in the region in their completion in 2024.

The Senate is set to look into passenger complaints against Cebu Pacific arising from reported flight cancellations over the past weeks.