East Hartford aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney said Sichuan Airlines has agreed to purchase PurePower engines to power its Airbus planes.
Sichuan will purchase PW1100G-JM engines to power 24 Airbus A320neo planes, Pratt said Wednesday. Pratt’s Farmington parent United Technologies said in July that it expects A320neo planes to enter into service late this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sichuan, which offers flights to 200 destinations in Asia, North America and Australia, is the first Chinese airline to order PurePower engines directly, Pratt said. The airline was an initial customer for Pratt’s V2500 engine when it launched 20 years ago.
Pratt has previously announced other Chinese customers for the engines, including China Aircraft Leasing Group, which agreed in June to purchase engines for 18 A320neo planes, with deliveries beginning in 2017.
Pratt’s first PurePower customer in mainland China was CDB Leasing Co., which last year ordered as many as 30 Bombardier CSeries planes, which have PurePower engines.
The engines are also a part of Embraer’s new E-Jets E2 line of aircraft, which have been purchased by Tianjin Airlines and other Chinese customers. Those planes enter service in 2018.
