Pratt & Whitney’s New Engine Powers ILFC’s Order for Upgraded Airbus Jets
Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine was chosen by International Lease Finance Corp. to power 60 Airbus A320neo aircraft, the largest order yet for the new, more efficient turbine.
The engine from Pratt & Whitney, a unit of Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp. (UTX), competes with the Leap-X from CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA (SAF) of France, to power Airbus SAS’s A320neo. The neo offers customers more fuel-efficient engines on the Toulouse, France-based company’s narrow-body jets.
Pratt & Whitney didn’t disclose financial terms and hasn’t publicly provided a list price for the new engine. Pratt will provide 120 engines for the ILFC’s A320 family orders, which include larger A321 variants. Deliveries of the jets are slated to begin in 2016, ILFC said.
“This is the first win for the new P&W engine on the A320neo, and given the quality of the customer, I’d say it is a strong endorsement of the potential qualities of this engine,” said Rob Stallard, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in New York who has an “outperform” rating on United Technologies.
The aircraft will benefit from an engine with “double- digit” reductions in fuel burn, Pratt said in a statement. An additional 80 engines may be provided for an additional 40 planes, the engine-maker said.
“We look forward to extending the benefits of this new engine technology, which will improve fuel efficiency and address other environmental advantages for our customers,” Henri Courpron, ILFC’s chief executive officer, said in Pratt’s statement.
ILFC, a division of American International Group Inc. (AIG), also ordered 33 Boeing Co. 737-800s, exclusively powered by CFM’s existing CFM56 model, with deliveries starting in 2012. The total orders, including options, are valued at $11.8 billion at list prices.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Layne in Boston at rlayne@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net
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