The hope for flight operations continues to look bleak for Go First, as all the planes of the airlines are grounded. Amid bankruptcy calls, the Wadia Group chairman has pointed a finger at aerospace company Pratt & Whitney for the fate of Go First.
Billionaire Nusli Wadia, who runs the parent company of bankrupt airlines Go First, said that it is because of the faulty engines manufactured and provided by P&W that the airline is suffering, causing a loss of ₹10,000 crore.
Go First sought voluntary bankruptcy in May 2023. It blamed the engines made by the US aerospace company for causing technical distress in the airlines. Now, the billionaire owner of Go First himself has blamed the engine maker for the loss to the company.
“Over the last two years, P&W’s inaction and contractual defaults irreparably financially damaged Go First, putting at risk several thousand employees and a national asset serving millions of passengers,” Nusli Wadia told The Economic Times.
He further added, “Left with no options, Go was forced to file with NCLT (the National Company Law Tribunal), which passed an order for the revival of the airline as a going concern. Unfortunately, due to several legal interventions, despite Go First being poised for revival, its revival could not take place.”
P&W engines cause Go First downfall
The main reason why Go First’s revival was not possible was because over 65 percent of its flights had already been grounded, with the ones in the air being threatened by lessors. However, the faulty engines remained Go First’s number one problem.
Initially, Go First had signed a contract with Pratt and Whitney for their engines on the condition that they would work 15,000 hours without maintenance. But the engines started facing problems from the start of the contract, with P&W eventually offering to fix them for free.
During the Covid pandemic, P&W started demanding payment for repairing the engines, violating the contract and causing loss of flight hours for Go First, eventually leading to a lack of funds.