Air New Zealand could face service disruptions over the next two years as it inspects 17 of its planes to find tiny cracks in engine fans.
In July, engine maker Pratt & Whitney said up to 700 aircraft worldwide would need inspections, affecting maintenance schedules.
Air New Zealand said the 17 A320 and 321 NEO aircraft serve Australia, the Pacific islands and domestic routes.
The airline’s CEO, Greg Foran, mentioned that most passengers will still be able to fly on the same day, but some international passengers may need to adjust their travel date to a day earlier or later than originally booked.
Air New Zealand expects up to four aircraft to be grounded at the same time and is looking at options to lease additional aircraft to mitigate the impact of these inspections.
Direct flights from Auckland to Hobart and Seoul will also be suspended from April 2024.
Foran said: “The suspension of flights to Seoul will cause greater disruption while the Trent 1000 engines that power our 787 fleet undergo scheduled maintenance due to potential issues with Rolls-Royce spare engines during maintenance.”
“While both routes are performing well, we need to ensure that we can provide reliable service across the rest of the network and get customers where they need to go on our most popular routes.”
Passengers affected by the flight disruptions do not need to proactively contact Air New Zealand, the airline will contact them with information in the coming weeks.
The airline’s Chief Executive, Greg Foran, admitted that this was not the news they had hoped for, especially as they had recently announced the purchase of new aircraft to increase capacity and meet the continued high demand for their services.
