In their bankruptcy petition, Go First lays blame for their financial situation at Pratt and Whitney’s feet. The airline’s fleet of 49 Airbus A320neo aircraft is powered by the Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan engine, which has suffered reliability and maintenance issues worldwide. Go First says it has been waiting for replacement engines from Pratt and Whitney for quite some time. Go First and P&W entered into arbitration in Singapore in March. Go First says Pratt and Whitney is in breach of that arbitrator’s ruling that the P&W would furnish the airline with 10 spare engines by the end of April.

The airline has taken multiple A320neo aircraft offline nearly every month since June 2022, totally more than two dozen aircraft since 2021. With half its fleet grounded, Go First has struggled to compete domestically, especially as rival airlines have gained strength through consolidation.