By Allison Lampert
MONTREAL (Reuters) - Two airlines flying Bombardier Inc's (TO:BBDb) CSeries planes were asked to perform early preventive checks of engines by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney after problems were detected in a different variant of the geared turbofan motor, the aircraft maker said on Friday.
United Technologies Corp (N:UTX) division Pratt & Whitney directed Swiss International Air Lines (SWIN.UL) and airBaltic to inspect engine combustion liners after 2,000 flight hours, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft spokesman Bryan Tucker said.
The steel liner fits into the combustion chamber of an engine where fuel is burned.
"We expect the lifespan to be greater than this, but the inspections will determine when the liners require replacement," said Bryan Tucker, a spokesman for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, in an email. "The corrected liner’s lifespan is expected to be around 6,000 hours and these are expected to be delivered (by Pratt) this summer."
A Pratt and Whitney spokeswoman referred a reporter to a company statement which said it added a combustor lining inspection to its regular scheduled maintenance of the PW1500G engine.
Bombardier expects its first CSeries narrowbody delivered to customer Korean Air Lines (KS:003490) this summer will have a corrected liner, Tucker said.
There are no reported performance issues with the PW1500G engine used in the CSeries 110-130 seat jets, unlike a different variant, the PW1100G, which is being used in the A-320NEO.
India's aviation regulator said in February it is investigating technical issues with the engine variant used in Airbus Group (PA:AIR) planes flown by IndiGo - owned by InterGlobe Aviation - and privately held GoAir.
Two GoAir A320 NEOs made emergency landings following technical issues last month, and in January an IndiGo flight was aborted after one of its engines developed a fault while accelerating for take-off.