June 14 (Bloomberg) -- United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney unit is eliciting great interest in its geared-fan engine and has increased research and development spending for the next version in order to be ready for demand from Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS, President David Hess said.

Pratt & Whitney is competing with Rolls-Royce Group Plc and General Electric Co. as they design engines for next-generation single-aisle planes. GE and Rolls are each developing an upgraded core, the hot section of the engine, and are studying the use of “open rotor” blades outside the engine casing.

“The interest level is high, which may be hard to believe in the current economy,” Hess said in an interview before the Paris Air Show, which begins tomorrow. “The timing is good” because the PurePower engine should be in use in 2013, when economic recovery will be well under way.

Pratt got its first large order for the PurePower engine in March, when Deutsche Lufthansa AG committed to 30 of Bombardier Inc.’s 100-seat C-Series aircraft, with an option for 30 more. The engine uses a gear to slow the fan portion of the turbine to make it more efficient. There is also interest in using Pratt’s PurePower for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s regional MRJ jet, Hess said.

Though total Pratt & Whitney research and development has dropped slightly this year, PurePower funding has increased, Hess said. The enginemaker is developing additions to features that will improve the first version by 2016 or 2017, he said.

Hess is boosting the budget for the technology even as the division cuts jobs to keep pace with a decline in air traffic. Pratt eliminated 1,500 positions last year and said in February it will trim a further 1,000 this year. While the plunge in airline travel has slowed, it’s difficult to predict when demand will start climbing, Hess said.

“The air traffic numbers for now have stopped dropping and things have kind of stabilized at a low level,” Hess said. “We’ll see what’s ahead.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Layne in Boston at rlayne@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 14, 2009 11:04 EDT