Pratt & Whitney aims to catch up with delayed deliveries to Airbus of PW1100G engines for the A320neo family “no later than early next year”.
Airbus has this year been building so-called gliders - completed aircraft absent their engines – thanks to a shipment shortfall from its propulsion providers.
But speaking at a media event at the Farnborough air show on 19 July, Rick Deurloo, president of commercial engines, said its output was beginning to stabilise.
Although he acknowledged deliveries had been below target, particularly in the first quarter, “our intent is to try and climb that back this year”.
“I would tell you that if I had a range, it would be no later than early next year for… Airbus,” he says.
Airbus plans to take A320-family production to a rate of 75 aircraft per month by 2025, prompting questions of whether its narrowbody supply chain will be able to cope with those rates.
Given current demand for new aircraft, Deurloo says P&W does not “question rate 75” or P&W’s ability to achieve such a rate, but would like a slower ramp to the higher output.
“I think Airbus would like to get us in sooner than we think we would be capable of. But I think we’d like to hit that rate sometime in the 2026 timeframe, maybe not a full calendar year, but we’d like to at least try and hit it during [that year].”
Negotiations with Airbus continue of the pacing towards rate 75, he says, adding: “Obviously they are pushing us to do better, but we are obviously being balanced with the knowledge that we have the [GTF] Advantage engine coming in.”
PW1100Gs are an option on A320neo-family jets alongside the CFM International Leap-1A.
