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Mexican carrier Volaris has rescheduled most of its Airbus A320neo-family deliveries from 2027 and 2028 until it is sure of receiving them equipped with Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage engines.
The Advantage upgrade offers fuel burn and durability improvements on the current iteration of the PW1000G, inspections and maintenance for which grounded 36 Volaris aircraft in the first quarter of this year.
While the LCC has been managing such disruption for some time, the grounded Neos are missed even more at current fuel prices. Volaris says it gets a monthly saving of $2 million for every 10 prior-generation A320s switched to Neos.
The airline had a total fleet of 155 aircraft at the end of the first quarter, with 102 A320neo-family units and the rest A320ceo types.
However, Volaris will adjust this mix going forward as it seeks to generate $50 million in annual lease savings while improving the productivity of its fleet. This will mean reducing its total fleet to 137 aircraft by the end of 2027—partly as a result of deferring deliveries that would have replaced outgoing aircraft—while increasing its number of operational aircraft to 125 from 112 at the end of 2025.
In doing so, it expects to benefit from GTF engines returning from shop visits, CFO Jaime Pous said.
“As we receive additional GTF engines and bring new aircraft back into operation, we enhance fuel efficiency relative to the Ceo fleet.
We expect the new mix of the operating fleet to increase to an average of approximately 70% [Neos] for the year, compared to 52% in 2025, reflecting our deliberate focus on maximizing fuel efficiency in the current environment.”
To pave the way for these returns, Volaris is accelerating shop visits of GTF engine in the current second quarter, during which 43 maintenance events are planned, compared with 15 last year.
Earlier in April, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage-powered version of the Airbus A320neo, clearing the way for entry into service later this year.
The Advantage is set to become Pratt’s production standard for the GTF, with a full transition expected starting in 2028.
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