Troubling news for our national carrier, with a global engine problem affecting hundreds of planes worldwide.

Engine maker Pratt and Whitney says up to 700 engines will be impacted over the next three years.

It'll affect 16 A320 and 321 NEO aircraft in Air New Zealand's fleet - mostly serving Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Aviation commentator Geoff Thomas says this disruption has been caused by parts of the engine prematurely wearing out.

"Over about 20 years, you'll replace every part of an engine. They all have different design lives within the engine, all different parts. What they've found is one particular area wearing a bit sooner than they thought."

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