United Technologies expects entry into service of the Airbus A320neo to take place in December, following the technical delay affecting Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine testing.
Flights with the two PW1100G-powered A320neo test aircraft have been suspended for several weeks while a component manufacturing fault was corrected.
UTC president Greg Hayes, speaking during a second-quarter financial update on 21 July, said he expected the aircraft to resume flying “early next week”.
He added that the flight-test programme would be completed around September, with certification following in November and entry into service taking place in December.
Qatar Airways is due to be the first customer to receive the A320neo. Airbus had originally expected service entry in October.
“These things just always take more time, but it’s not like the [A320neo development crews] have been sitting there doing nothing,” says Hayes.
“They have been doing a lot of ground-test runs and other testing that they can do before return to flight, so we feel pretty good about the schedule right now.”
Hayes says that the company is still aiming for year-end entry into service, adding that UTC is forecasting shipping some 36 engines to Airbus this year. “We’re still on schedule to do that,” he states.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
