Latvian carrier airBaltic has committed maintenance of its Pratt & Whitney PW1500 geared turbofan engines to the OEM for 17 years per engine.
Under the comprehensive support deal, airBaltic will pay for maintenance based on each engine’s flight hours.
Speaking to Aviation Week Network earlier this year, the airline’s CEO, Martin Gauss, said that its geared turbofans (GTF) had improved to up to 4,000 hr. on wing, versus sometimes just a few hundred hours at entry into service. In contrast, average time on wing for the engine’s predecessor, the IAE V2500, is more than 20,000 hr.
The airline has also been affected by the GTF inspection program. In the summer it predicted that during the winter season, it could be without up to 36 PW1500Gs, from an active fleet of roughly 50 Airbus A220s.
“Parts are not available, and slots in the shops are not available,” CEO Martin Gauss said at Aviation Week Network’s MRO BEER conference.
Nonetheless, he expressed confidence in Pratt & Whitney at the signing of the new maintenance deal, saying: “This agreement will support the growth plans of airBaltic towards a 100 Airbus A220-300 fleet by the year 2030.”
AirBaltic is currently planning an initial public offering and has also been in talks with an undisclosed strategic investor, rumored by many to be Lufthansa, about the sale of a minority stake in the carrier.
In mid-September the two airlines extended a wet lease partnership that sees airBaltic providing A220-300 capacity for Lufthansa. Now running until 2028, the partnership allows Lufthansa to deploy up to 21 additional aircraft in summer and five aircraft in winter at various hubs.
