The maintenance issues linked to 17 planes in Air New Zealand’s fleet could mean service disruptions over the next two years.
With the planes in question needing their engines checked for possible microscopic cracks, Air New Zealand says it needs to consolidate its flying schedule and pause two routes from April next year.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re travelling with Air New Zealand during that time.
What is the issue?
US engine maker Pratt & Whitney revealed in July that its global Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine fleet needed to be checked for possible microscopic cracks.
Air New Zealand has 17 A320/321NEO aircraft in its fleet that need to be checked. Those aircraft serve Australia, the Pacific Islands and some domestic routes.
How will this impact flight schedules?
Some delays and potential fare increases are possible while extra maintenance is carried out for some engines. (Source: 1News)
The Pratt & Whitney issue means Air New Zealand needs to adjust its engine maintenance plan, which in turn means a revised flight schedule, said the airline’s CEO, Greg Foran.
Approximately 330,000 customers will be affected over the next six months as those adjustments are made, he said.
“We’ve already made some adjustments and are in touch with our customers now, telling them what [those] are.”
Foran said for more than half of customers, there’s really no change at all, with just a swap in the aircraft flying their route. The rest will have some changes in the times they are flying.
“Most customers whose flights have been changed will still fly on the same day,” Foran said.
“Some on international flights will be reaccommodated to services a day either side of their original booking and some may have a cabin change due to a different aircraft being used.”
He said in some cases, customers will be timebound due to having a connecting flight to get to.
“So, where it’s inconvenient, we’ll give them a refund.”
Flights to Hobart and Seoul paused
Air New Zealand is also pausing two of its international routes as it juggles its schedule.
Flights between Auckland and Hobart will be paused from April 5, 2024, while flights between Auckland and Seoul will be paused from April 1, 2024.
“While both routes have performed well, we need to ensure we can deliver a reliable service across the rest of our network and get customers on our most in-demand routes to where they need to be,” Foran said.
“Customers will still be able to book to Hobart and Seoul with Air New Zealand, but these flights won’t be direct and will be partly operated by our partner airlines.”
Foran said impacted customers will be contacted by Air New Zealand in the coming weeks.
The airline has increased its external contact centre support to meet an expected increase in calls from affected customers.
How long is this issue expected to last?
There are around 700 Pratt & Whitney engines globally that need to be checked.
The impacts of this are significant, Foran said.
“We're hoping we can get through this as quickly as we can, but we also have been told by Pratt & Whitney that it could take up to two years before they fully get on top of the issues around the world.”
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