GTF Grounding Tracker
Tracking the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G crisis — fleet impact, supply-chain drag, and recovery signals
Overview
As of October 2025, 835 GTF-powered aircraft (34.1% of the global GTF fleet) remain on the ground awaiting Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engine inspections or repair — up from 687 (29.7%) in October 2024, a net increase of 148 aircraft. At the airline level, VivaAerobus is the hardest hit with 47.5% of its GTF fleet grounded. On the supply-chain side, P&W MRO throughput has improved — the internal output index rose from 100 in 2024 to an estimated 139 by Q4 2025 — yet the grounded count continues to climb, reflecting ongoing delivery of new aircraft that themselves require inspection before entering service. The data suggests the crisis is not yet over.
Fleet Breakdown
Financial Lens
Structural vs Bridge: Resolution Timeline Slippage
Each public guidance update moved the stated resolution date further out. Net slip: 12 months.
| Statement Date | Claimed Resolution | Context |
|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | End of calendar 2026 | Initial P&W compensation agreement horizon |
| Nov 2024 | F27 (≈ Mar 2027) | H1 FY2025 results — quietly pushed 3 months |
| Jun 2025 | End of calendar 2027 | FY2025 annual results — full 12-month slip acknowledged |
| Jul 2025 | March 2027 | Q1 FY2026 results — reiterated, no improvement |
| Jan 2026 | End of calendar 2027 | Q3 FY2026 — P&W compensation now extended to match |
Wizz Air Deep Dive
Public Narrative vs Reality
Wizz Air is the world's largest operator of Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered aircraft and has been one of the hardest-hit airlines in the engine crisis. This section tracks their public statements — earnings calls, press releases, and CEO interviews — and compares them against the actual grounding numbers on or near those same dates.
Key finding: Wizz Air's stated resolution timeline has slipped by at least 12 months (from end-2026 to end-2027), while language in public communications turned noticeably more pessimistic through late 2025 before stabilising as grounding counts finally began to fall.
Note: Data before May 2024 is a gap — Wizz Air did not disclose specific grounded-aircraft counts in public statements prior to their FY2024 annual results.
Communications Timeline vs Actual Grounding Count
| Date | Type | Headline / Source | Key Claim | Actual Grounded | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | Earnings Call | FY2024 Annual Results — 47 aircraft grounded at P&W peak | 47 neo aircraft currently grounded; expect peak of 50 by Sep 2024; €198.6M P&W compensation received in FY2024; groundings to resolve by end of calendar 2026 | 46 | Neutral |
| Aug 2024 | Earnings Call | Q1 FY2025 — 44% earnings drop as groundings bite | 46 aircraft grounded at 30 Jun 2024; revised peak forecast now 47 (down from 50); 300-day engine TAT assumption; CEO warned of prolonged disruption | 46 | Pessimistic |
| Nov 2024 | Earnings Call | H1 FY2025 — €146M P&W compensation; 41 grounded at Sep 30 | 41 aircraft grounded at 30 Sep 2024; expects 40-45 on ground for next 18 months; Varadi: 'better visibility to manage GTF issues to their expected conclusion in F27' | 41 | Neutral |
| Jan 2025 | Press Release | Wizz Air secures new P&W commercial support deal through end-2026 | ~40 aircraft grounded; new P&W agreement covers direct costs through end of calendar 2026; compensation 'consistent with levels currently being received' | 41 | Optimistic |
| Jun 2025 | Earnings Call | FY2025 Full Year — operating profit crashes 61.7%; timeline slips to end-2027 | Average 44 aircraft grounded in FY2025 (~20% of fleet); 37 grounded at 9 May 2025; target unground all by end 2027 — one year later than original plan; expects ~34 by end H1 FY2026 | 38 | Pessimistic |
| Jul 2025 | Earnings Call | Q1 FY2026 — 41 grounded; profit misses forecasts by 69% | 41 aircraft grounded at 30 Jun 2025 (vs 46 a year ago); operating profit €27M vs €87M forecast; expects average 35 grounded in 2026; GTF Advantage entry expected early 2026; full resolution target March 2027 | 38 | Pessimistic |
| Aug 2025 | Press Release | Wizz Air strikes new P&W compensation deal covering 2025-2026 | New compensation package from P&W covering direct costs for grounded aircraft through calendar 2026; deal announced alongside H1 FY2026 capacity guidance | 38 | Optimistic |
| Oct 2025 | Interview | CFO: 'Extremely frustrating' — CEO: 'At mercy of the manufacturer' | 38 grounded (down from peak of ~60 a year ago); CFO Ian Malin: 'extremely frustrating — we've been dealing with it now for two-and-a-half years'; CEO Varadi: 'we don't fully control our destiny here; we are at the mercy of the manufacturer'; 'no absolute guarantee' fleet fully operational by 2027 | 41 | Very Pessimistic |
| Jan 2026 | Earnings Call | Q3 FY2026 — 33 grounded; P&W compensation extended to end-2027 | 33 aircraft grounded (down from 40 a year ago); 10% revenue growth; net loss narrowing; CFO: 'we are fully covered until end of 2027' — P&W deal extended beyond industry-standard 2026 cutoff due to Wizz Air's status as largest GTF operator; CEO: 'plan to uplift aircraft completely by end of 2027' | 33 | Neutral |
⚠️ flag = nearest available data point is >120 days from statement date.
Sentiment Tracker
Each pip = one public communication, left-to-right chronologically. Trend is broadly stable (avg 2.7/5; 1 = Very Pessimistic, 5 = Very Optimistic).
Data Sources
| Source | Coverage |
|---|---|
| FlightGlobal / Cirium | Fleet data and grounding counts, various dates 2024–2025 |
| RTX / Pratt & Whitney Earnings Calls | MRO output index and JetBlue fleet data (Q1 2025, Q1 2026) |
| FlightGlobal | Wizz Air, Volaris, VivaAerobus airline-level grounding figures |
| Wizz Air Earnings Calls (FY2024–Q3 FY2026) | Wizz Air grounded-aircraft counts and forward guidance — see data/wizz_air_comms.csv for full citation list |
| Simple Flying / Aerotime / ch-aviation | Wizz Air GTF communications tracking; interview quotes from CEO József Váradi and CFO Ian Malin |
| Wizz Air RNS / SEC Filings | FY2025 Annual Results (5 Jun 2025); Q1 FY2026 Results (24 Jul 2025) |