Uzbek carrier FLYONE Asia's first branded Airbus A321neo is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, known as Geared Turbofan (GTF). This makes the airline the first operator in Uzbekistan to fly GTF-powered aircraft.
Prior to this, Air Astana Group — Kazakhstan's flag carrier group — was the sole operator of GTF-powered A320neo-family aircraft in Central Asia. Uzbekistan's other airlines, including Uzbekistan Airways, Centrum Air and Qanot Sharq Airlines, operate A320neo-family aircraft (A320neo/A321neo) exclusively equipped with CFM International (CFM) LEAP-1A engines. That choice was driven by the higher reliability LEAP-1A has demonstrated compared with the PW1100G.
The reliability gap between the two engine types is substantial. Earlier this year, according to Lufthansa Consulting, 36% of the global PW1100G-powered A320neo-family fleet — 630 aircraft — was grounded due to engine-related issues. By contrast, engine-related issues grounded only 5% of the LEAP-1A-powered A320neo-family fleet — 150 aircraft.
The aircraft itself is one year old and was previously operated by the now-defunct US ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines.