SWISS Grounds Airbus A220-100 Fleet Due To Ongoing Engine Issues

Swiss has taken the drastic decision of grounding its entire Airbus A220-100 fleet amid ongoing engine issues with Pratt & Whitney-geared turbofans. The carrier has operated the A220 the longest as it was the launch customer for the type back in 2016, when it was still known as the Bombardier CS100. And while this segment of the fleet consists of only nine aircraft, it's more negative news for the troubled engine. Shortly after the A220 entered service, the aircraft's Pratt & Whitney GTF engines began to experience reliability issues. These problems reportedly come in the form of corrosion damage caused by a production issue. And so, with no end in sight for these problems, Swiss has opted to withdraw its A220-100s from service for at least 18 months, with any serviceable engines being fitted on the larger A220-300s instead. The move makes sense considering the increased capacity of the Dash 300s, allowing for versatility in terms of passengers. Of course, the one thing the A220-300s can't do that the Dash 100s can, is serve London City Airport with its steep approach and shorter runway. And so, for Swiss to continue serving the airport without reducing frequencies, its Embraer E190-E2s and E195-E2s will replace any A220 iterations that were on the schedule. As we noted earlier, Swiss's A220-100 grounding is more bad yet unsurprising news, connected to the type's Pratt & Whitney-geared turbofan engines. Dennis Weber, Swiss's chief financial officer, confirmed the type's temporary withdrawal while presenting the airline's third-quarter results, saying that the type will remain on the ground for 18 months, explaining, "...this isn't a safety issue, but it's a constant source of effort. The A220-100s will remain grounded. This will take around a year and a half." The A220-100s and Dash 300s showed a lot of promise when they first entered service, and airlines like Swiss have relied heavily on them for their regional operations. Unfortunately, this reliance has backfired due to the engine issues, with those issues being prolonged by supply chain issues and getting replacement components. Indeed, another way Swiss has had to cope with unavailable A220s and their unavailable engines is to strike an arrangement with Latvia's Air Baltic and its A220-300s to cover some routes in the Swiss network. As we've covered in other videos, other airlines have been burned by these A220 engine issues. Most notable is Egypt Air, who retired and sold off its entire fleet of 12 A220-300s. While Iraqi Airways has yet to officially retire its fleet of five A220-300s, the carrier's jets have been parked and inactive for months now. What do you think of Swiss's decision? Let us know by leaving a comment.