Go First says it needs emergency arbitration in dispute with Pratt & Whitney in Delaware court

Go First said, on Monday, that it needed an emergency arbitration in its dispute with Los Angeles-based engine maker Pratt & Whitney that it blamed for its financial condition. The emergency arbitration, it said, must be enforced in Delaware to prevent the airline from going out of business. 

The airline approached the Delaware district court to enforce an arbitration order passed in Singapore in March. The Singapore order asked Pratt & Whitney to assist the airline and supply serviceable spare engines. 

The engine-maker argued in the Delaware court last week that Go First’s claim was ‘unfounded’ and that the dynamics of the dispute had changed. It said that it faces more risks after Go First was granted bankruptcy protection, and asked the court to put the airline’s request on hold or dismiss it. 

It added that Go First was not a "victim in need of urgent legal redress" but in reality an "insolvent airline that materially breached its contractual obligations”. The engine-maker further argued that the airline’s financial situation is of its own making and the result of its years-long failure to pay for the maintenance and lease charges, which led Pratt & Whitney to suspend its services.

In its filing, Go First said that Pratt & Whitney’s arguments fail, and said, quoting the emergency arbitrator, that there is a very real danger that the airline will go out of business if relief is given in respect of the delivery of the engines. The stay that Pratt sought would cause the harm that the emergency arbitration awards were designed to prevent, the filing added.

The low-cost airline blames the Raytheon Technologies-owned engine maker for its financial woes. It said that the faulty engines provided by Pratt & Whitney resulted in the grounding of half of its fleet, leading to massive financial loss to the airline. 

Meanwhile, global aviation leasing watchdog, Aviation Working Group (AWG), that monitors leasing and financial laws on behalf of plane-makers and lessors, put India on a watchlist with a negative outlook, for failing to comply with international aircraft repossession norms after Go First was granted protection under the insolvency proceedings. 

Also read: Go First crisis: Global aviation leasing watchdog puts India on watchlist with negative outlook

Also read: 'Go First an insolvent airline, not a victim’: Pratt & Whitney at Delaware court