By the end of the year, IndiGo plans to add business class to its grounded aircraft and equip them with two seats

By using this tactic, IndiGo hopes to educate cabin staff, test its premium service on domestic flights, save expenses, and prevent the need to ground more aircraft in order to provide more space.

The biggest airline in India, IndiGo, intends to equip its grounded Airbus A321 aircraft with first-class seats in order to provide business class service for the first time by year's end.

Moneycontrol was informed by many individuals with knowledge of the current negotiations that IndiGo's grounded A321 aircraft will shortly be shipped out to be outfitted with new dual-class seats and CFM International LEAP-1A engines.

A top IndiGo official, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "IndiGo is speaking to vendors to fastrack fitting its grounded A321 fleet alongside premium seats for its business class cabins, as the airline is hoping to reintroduce these aircraft to its commercial fleet by the end of the year."

In order to save time, he said, IndiGo has requested suppliers to put the updated seating arrangement on its grounded aircraft. By taking this action, IndiGo hopes to test its premium service in India, train its cabin crew, save expenses, and prevent having to ground more aircraft in order to provide more space.

According to a different executive, IndiGo has around twenty-five Airbus A321 aircraft grounded. These aircraft will get new premium seats while they undergo maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) to install new engines.

According to another executive who wished to remain anonymous, "The airline, in typical responsible IndiGo fashion, is looking to maximize its AOG (aircraft on ground) as well as is looking to use its upcoming MRO visit of its A321 network to kill two birds with one stone."

At the time of writing, emails sent to an IndiGo representative had not received a response.

The largest airline in India in terms of both fleet size and domestic market share, IndiGo, has said that it now has over 70 grounded aircraft and that these would soon begin to fly again.

Some of the aircraft on the ground are either conducting inspections after Pratt & Whitney's recall of hundreds of PW1100G engines, or they are waiting for components as a result of supply-chain issues.

First class business 

IndiGo said last week that by the end of 2024, it would provide business class amenities on its flights.

The airline said in the filing that the premium class travel option would be available on the busiest itineraries. The airline will provide further information on the routes, debut date, and discounts in August.

Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said, "We are excited about this new phase and tailored product in IndiGo's evolution and strategy and aim to further bring wings to the nation through uniting people and aspirations."

According to a May 28 report from CNBC-TV18, 10 to 15 planes that fly on popular domestic metro routes would have business class seats accessible on IndiGo.

"Passengers will soon have the choice to upgrade to a more premium travel experience, among others, traveling between Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Chennai," according to the CNBC article. It also said that it is anticipated that IndiGo's international business class service will launch on routes like Delhi-Dubai, Delhi-Singapore, and Delhi-Abu Dhabi.

Why are the aircraft of IndiGo grounded?

Due to engine problems with the Pratt & Whitney jets that are fitted on certain of its Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft—a portion of the airline's total fleet of 367 aircraft—IndigoGo has been forced to ground some of these aircraft.

The airline now has 367 aircraft in its fleet, of which 176 are A320neos. Of the aforementioned, sixty more aircraft are powered by P&W engines.

Pratt & Whitney's parent company, RTX Corp., said in September that it will expand the scope of its most recent engine examinations.

The issue, which the business initially made public in July, is caused by flaws in the powder metal that was used to create some of the geared turbofan engines used in Pratt & Whitney, which may lead to cracks.

According to RTX, until 2026, an additional 600–700 engines beyond the company's initial estimate will need to be taken out of service for repair visits.

The flaw will cause hundreds of aircraft to be grounded and impact almost the whole fleet of Airbus A320neos with GTF engines.

According to the firm, between next year and 2026, an average of 350 Airbus A320 family aircraft will be grounded annually. According to the airline, the problem might end up costing up to $7 billion.

GTF engine problem

Due to supply-chain issues, IndiGo's A321 aircraft are grounded as the airline looks to replace the Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) engines made by Pratt & Whitney.

The engine's GTF gear lowers rotational speed, enabling the fan to run even at slower rates. Industry insiders claim that when the GTF engines were first released, they were the most fuel-efficient models in the Airbus 320neo family.

These engines were formerly solely made by P&W, but other companies, including Safran, have now begun to produce them. The new engines are being used by IndiGo and Air India.

A pilot who has operated an aircraft with one of these engines said, "There have been reports of vibrations in component three of the GTF engines, which led to the aircraft experiencing issues."

DGCA order for GTF engines in 2019

The DGCA requested that IndiGo and Go First replace around thirty PW GTF engines in 2019 after they had been in service for more than 3,000 hours.

In 2019, the DGCA released a safety advise about problems with Pratt & Whitney's GTF engines, after multiple aircraft grounded by GoAir and IndiGo in 2018.

The DGCA said in its advice that there had been operational and technical issues with aircraft equipped with the engines. An rising number of problems involving Airbus 320 Neo and Airbus 321 Neo aircraft have been linked to a pattern, according to the regulator.

After discovering a flaw in the low-pressure turbine (LPT) engine of the GTF engines, the DGCA ordered IndiGo and Go First to swap out their outdated engines with the new, upgraded Neo engines, which have fixed any gearbox or LPT design issues.

According to the DGCA, aircraft with over 2,900 hours of flight time and without a newly upgraded engine delivered after June 2019 were deemed to be the most vulnerable to malfunctions.

IndiGo moved to LEAP-1A engines in 2019 after the DGCA advise and inked a long-term maintenance contract with CFM International for both engines to power its A320 and A321 family aircraft.

Problems with P&W's GTF engines have also led bankrupt carrier Go First to halt a large portion of its fleet.