‘Allegations without merit’: Pratt & Whitney pursuing legal recourse against Go First 

US-based engine maker Pratt & Whitney (P&W) will pursue legal recourse against the Wadia Group-owned airline Go First. P&W said that Go First’s allegations are without merit. A Pratt & Whitney spokesperson told news agency ANI: “Go First airline’s allegations that Pratt & Whitney is responsible for its financial condition are without merit. Pratt & Whitney will vigorously defend itself against Go First’s claims, and is pursuing its own legal recourse”. 

Go First blamed Pratt & Whitney for having to suspend its flight operations. The cash-strapped airline said in a statement that the engine maker refused to comply with the award issued by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) for dispatching 10 engines per month until December 2023. As per Go First, the grounding of around 50 per cent of its Airbus A320neo fleet led to it incurring "Rs 10,800 crore in lost revenues and additional expenses". At present, the airline has a fleet of 54 Airbus A320neo and five Airbus A320ceo.

Earlier this week, Go First CEO Kaushik Khona said the airline is seeking $1.1 billion in damages from P&W. The Go First CEO said in an interview with The Economic Times that the airline will sue the engine maker in various jurisdictions to seek damages. Some of these jurisdictions are in the US, one in Germany, one in Japan, and one or two more in Europe and Singapore.

Khona explained: “We have already crossed 20,000 aircraft on ground (AOG) days in the last three years, losing almost $55,000 each day. This means that my compensation alone, or my loss, which I can claim from Pratt & Whitney alone, will be around $1.1 billion”.

The no-frills air carrier filed for insolvency resolution proceedings in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This appeal focuses on the airline’s debts and liabilities, totaling to more than Rs 11,000 crore. The airline cited severe cash crunch and faulty engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney as the reasons for most of its fleet getting grounded.

Also read: Go First insolvency: Why the airline was staring at a crisis for long

Also read: Meet Abhilash Lal, the man supposed to safely land the bankrupt Go First airline