Pratt & Whitney does not foresee any new issues to the PW1100G geared turbofan engine and is confident of future orders for the powerplant.
Speaking to FlightGlobal at the Wings India air show in Hyderabad, a source close to developments says that airline data offers hope that no new, major issues will crop up.
"There are no new trends to indicate future problems of the engine based on the data that is coming in from the airlines," says the source.
On 9 February the European Aviation Safety Agency issued an emergency airworthiness directive after preliminary findings indicated that the root cause of four recent engine shutdowns was a recent durability improvement to the aft hub knife edge seal in the high pressure compressor. Six days later, the US Federal Aviation Administration published the same warning.
Both notices identified a batch of nearly 100 engines that Pratt & Whitney had delivered to Airbus, including 43 already operating in service.
The incident arose just as it seemed P&W had finally overcome early teething issues on the GTF family. In December 2017, P&W began implementing fixes for two parts with durability issues, but neither involved the aft hub knife edge seal. Instead, P&W redesigned the combustor line and carbon air seal in the No. 3 bearing.
The PW1100G version of the GTF family is one of two engine options on the Airbus A320neo.
P&W remains confident on future orders for the powerplant in the subcontinent as a large number of A320neos on order have yet to undergo an engine selection. In addition, Indian carriers are due for a fleet renewal within the next few years.
The source says that the PW1100G "is delivering results above expected forecasts" with a 16% fuel improvement over the International Aero Engines V2500 and a one to two percent fuel improvement over the CFM LEAP engine.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
