Tycoon Wadia’s Airline Files for Insolvency Citing Engine Snags
- Pratt engine issues have grounded 25 of Go First’s aircraft
- Carrier had expected to raise $440 million via IPO last year
An aircraft operated by Go Airlines prepares to land at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, in 2016.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergGo Airlines India Ltd. filed for insolvency protection, blaming failing Pratt & Whitney engines for grounding about half its fleet of Airbus aircraft at a time when demand for travel is soaring.
Debt-laden Go First filed with the National Company Law Tribunal in Delhi “due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney’s International Aero Engines,” resulting in the grounding of 25 A320neo jets, it said in a statement Tuesday. Go, owned by Indian conglomerate Wadia Group, also said that Pratt refused to comply with an award issued by an emergency arbitrator to provide the carrier with at least 10 usable engines by April 27, and an additional 10 a month until December 2023.