A Boeing 737-800 operated by the Croatian start-up airline ETF Airways suffered an engine failure in Bremen at the beginning of the month. The failure of the machine resulted in enormous costs for ETF Airways.

The Croatian airline ETF Airways has had its own AOC (HR-28) since May 2021, 105 and has since added two Boeing 737-800s leased from AerCap to its fleet. The “Enterprise” (9A-ABC) and the “Voyager” (9A-LAB) offer various charter, ACMI and AOG (“Aircraft On Ground”) flights. But now you had to register an AOG with the 9A-LAB.

As Simple Flying writes, on August 2, 2021, after landing in Bremen, a rabbit was sucked into one of the two CFM56-7B27 engines. The subsequent flight from Bremen to Pristina had to be canceled due to the so-called FOD (“Foreign Object Damage”). Only after the engine had been repaired was the 9A-LAB able to resume operations on August 14, 2021.

In the meantime, you had to rent various third-party aircraft - sometimes only on individual rotations. Aviation.direct has checked who has flown for ETF Airways on subcontracts:

• ALK Airlines, MD-82 (LZ-DEO)
• Hi Fly, A321-200 (CS-TRJ)
• Privilege Style, B767-300ER (EC-LZO)
• Smartwings, B737-800 (OK-TVF & OK-TVH & OK-TSE)
• Trade Air, A319-100 (9A-BTJ) & A320-200 (9A-BTH)

According to the airline, the annoying incident is likely to have resulted in costs of around one million euros (€ 500 for repair costs, € 000 for leasing replacement aircraft, € 400 for other costs). Simple Flying raises the question of how the liquidity of ETF Airways has suffered from the failure and repair of the Voyager. Because the costs have to be paid immediately, while the insurance company will only (partially) repay this in the future.

But an FOD is nothing out of the ordinary. There are statistics that say that this is the most common damage to aircraft and is said to occur around 70 times a year. Globally, claims settlement costs can be in the range of USD 000 billion. So ETF Airways is in good company. Insurers are also aware of the problem and will certainly tackle the regulation quickly.