EXCLUSIVE-Wizz Air working on deal with Pratt & Whitney to help clear engine servicing block, CEO says

By Joanna Plucinska

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Wizz Air WIZZ.L is working towards a deal with RTX-owned RTX.CO jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney to accelerate the servicing of its engines, delays with which have left large chunks of the European low-cost carrier's fleet grounded, its CEO told Reuters on Monday.

A defect in the powder metal used to make high-pressure turbines and compressor discs has impacted certain Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, disrupting airlines globally, especially those, like Wizz, flying Airbus AIR.PA A320neo-family jets.

If the previously unreported talks result in a deal, it could help Wizz get its fleet back up to full speed faster, boost investor confidence and lift the carrier's struggling share price. The firm's exit from the Abu Dhabi market earlier this summer also gave it some support.

Wizz Air's all-Airbus fleet has been hit particularly hard by the defect as the entire industry grapples with delayed supply chains on repairs and maintenance.

Shares in Wizz Air have been among the worst performers in the European airlines market in the last year in large part due to the groundings.

Wizz is aiming to finalize the accelerated deal with Pratt & Whitney ahead of reporting its first half-year results on November 13, Jozsef Varadi said.

He added that the talks with P&W were more broadly associated with a purchase deal for more engines announced in Paris in June.

"We're going to be seeing a lot of engines going into shops for maintenance work," Varadi told Reuters in an interview. "What is new, and the improvement, is the earlier recovery of those engines."

Varadi told Bloomberg earlier this month that he aims to turn Wizz Air's fortunes around by mid-2027, without mentioning the Pratt & Whitney deal.