Go First crisis: Doing everything possible with utmost care for employees, CEO tells staff

Go First crisis: CEO Kaushik Khona has told employees that the airline has been crippled by recurring Pratt & Whitney engine troubles and assured that the carrier is doing everything possible to navigate the situation with utmost care and concern for all staff.

Go First CEO Kaushik Khona has informed employees that the airline has been grounded due to reoccurring Pratt & Whitney engine problems and has assured them that the carrier is doing all necessary to handle the situation with the utmost care and regard for all employees.

The no-frills carrier has filed for voluntary insolvency and has also suspended all flights for three days beginning Wednesday. Khona stated in a message to staff late Tuesday that Pratt & Whitney's refusal to provide engines had caused a horrible predicament.  For more than a year, the airline's management has made every effort to persuade P&W to deliver spare engines and repair engines. 

However, P&W has obstructed the discussions, according to the CEO, adding that it has requested Emergency Arbitration in Singapore. The arbitrator, according to the airline, ordered P&W to furnish at least 10 serviceable spare leased engines by April 27 and an additional 10 spare leased engines each month until December 2023.

"With that, the airline would have had all of its A320 neo aircraft operational by August/September 2023... unfortunately, Pratt & Whitney has chosen to defy the order from the Emergency Arbitrator," Khona wrote in a message. 

The airline petitioned the arbitrator, who reaffirmed the ruling, and because P&W "choosed to defy for the second time," he continued, the airline began enforcement procedures in a US court demanding implementation of the judgement.

"We want to reassure you that we are doing everything possible to navigate this situation with the utmost care and concern for all employees," the CEO stated, addressing the staff as "Go Getters." 

With a diminished fleet, Khona claims the airline is unable to produce money for lessors, who are using coercive measures against the firm by issuing letters of credit, issuing grounding orders, and demanding the return of aircraft.

(With PTI inputs)